Remembrance
The trials of a young woman, as she struggles to remember her past, while avoiding the pearls of the future, in a world not her own.

Written by Lord �thar
Completed on 30th September, 2000
(See the end of the story for contact information.)

Prologue � Hope and Despair
        Smoke filled the room everywhere, making the stone walls of the keep difficult to see. An old man in dirtied wizard's robes walked swiftly through the rubble of the ruined laboratory, inwardly cursing. He stepped over a body sprawled against the wall, were blackened by one of the many explosions that had wracked the lab only minutes earlier. He only needed to spare a glance at it to tell that it was dead, and a twinge of sadness for the death of a colleague, but he had not the time right then to grieve. He would have time later to grieve, but not now.
        He rounded the corner and entered into a different part of the laboratory. Several of his other colleagues and students, living thankfully, were bustling around, seeing what was salvageable and what was not. Dread filled him as he examined the white marble coffins aligned vertically along the far wall. There were seven coffins at one time, but now all but one was ruined - the six other coffins were blackened and in various states of destruction. Of the crowd of working people, a man and a woman were staring intently at the one remaining intact coffin, obviously scanning the insides of it with their magic.
        The man looked up and saw his master, and a brief glimmer of relief alighted on his eyes. That glimmer was brief however, as he returned to his task. The Master approached the couple, hoping to hear some good news out of all of this.
        "Sir, it is good to see you're alive," the man said. His soot-covered features wore both relief and dread.
        "What's our situation? Is this coffin and construct still viable?�
        Others in the lab now took note that their master was present and alive, but being the experienced mages they were, they did not approach him. There was too much work to be done, and he could only listen to so much at a time. But they started working a little faster, as if just his mere presence gave them hope.
        The woman standing next to the man � Mirianne was her name � spoke for her partner. "This simulacrum is still alive, but the others are all dead."
        The Master voiced the question that was weighing down on him. "Did we miss all of the spirits? Are there any left in this cycle to put into this simulacrum's body?"
        Mirianne nodded, and then went on. "Yes, there's one, maybe two spirits left coming down in about thirty-seven hours. The damage done to this simulacrum was negligible, since we had her in this room working on her." She hesitated for a moment, and then she resumed. "Unfortunately, this is our newest one, and she's not complete to our specification."
        The Master raised an eyebrow, "which one is it? And please explain better." He had been absent from the Keep recently investigating their enemies, but he had a hunch as to which one it was, and the possibility didn't appeal to him much.
        "This was number seven, the one we started on just before you left on your last journey. I'll make it brief. Number Seven here was intended to be used to infiltrate Baron Slovan's sanctum by means of her entering through his harem. We had been spending extra time on her physical makeup to find the right balance of extreme beauty and utility, and thus we've not gone far beyond the basic weavings for her magical abilities. She does have a great deal of magical potential, and an innate ability to feel the �ther, but she'd have no understanding or even knowledge yet of her abilities. We also haven't implemented any wardings into her being yet.�
She paused momentarily to allow her monologue to set in, then continued. �We're still assessing the damage done, but it doesn't appear that we'll be able to do much more with her abilities; we lost too many scrolls and items, not to mention we're limited on time. We're lucky that we have the raw ability into her, but I don't think we'll be able to impart much understanding into her. We might possibly be able to put her at the level of an advanced apprentice, or if we're real lucky, a beginning journeywoman, but that's about it. The good news is that I think we can imbed some basic wardings to protect her from one or two things of our choice."
Just as the Master feared, and although he knew the conclusion, he allowed her to continue. "She'll be fully independent and free-thinking, like we want, but without the wards or the awareness we want. She'll first be confused, especially at trying to figure out how she knows some magic. We're not sure if she'll remember anything of the host spirit or not. We don't think so, but if it does and we're lucky, the spirit might know some magic already.
The Master motioned her to stop an idea forming in his mind. �Don't imbed any spell knowledge into her at all.� Mirianne and her companion looked at him uncomprehendingly, but remained silent as he explained. �I recall that our divinations told us that the last spirit was a highly intelligent spirit with a logical and adaptive mind. I also recall that it has studied several types and styles of magic as a hobby, even though it appears to be from a low or null magic world. I suggest we make sure that Number seven and the spirit will have an eidetic memory. If my suspicions are correct, it will vastly speed her learning of magic, more so than it normally would. Also, since it appears that it has a strong sense of goodness and virtue, we can possibly allow her to chose and build the style that suits the spirit the best, instead of us choosing for her. If we can protect her long enough after the merging to get some basic training into her, I think it'll work out better in the long run.�
Both of his students/colleagues nodded their understanding and agreement. At that moment, the Master realized that he didn't even know what this simulacrum looked like. "Is it safe to see her?" he asked. The man nodded affirmative, and he traced a sigil on the coffin's lid. Soundlessly and without any pyrotechnics, the lid faded away and became as clear as glass, and the Master was able to see her in her full magnificence.
She was indeed beautiful as his workers said; beautiful in a way that nature seldom creates. She was fairly tall, perhaps as tall as his own six-foot frame, with creamy-white skin which he guessed was as soft as it could be. Fiery-red hair framed her face and cascaded down her shoulders, flowing down to her knees in a thick, vibrant mass. Her legs were trim, her hips were alluring, her waist perfectly proportioned and large breasts covered by her mane of hair. She was breathtaking in the least, designed to capture the attention of any man. He softly propelled a finger of magic into the coffin to brush the hair away from her body, to get a full measure of her. As he withdrew the concealing hair, he perked an eyebrow.
"Perhaps it's just my practical nature, but didn't you make her a little top-heavy?" Top-heavy was putting it mildly. He had misjudged the size of her breasts before, but now he could see that they were larger than his first estimate, very possibly the size of small watermelons. He did not know how women measured their bust lines, but he'd met very few women in his lifetime that had breasts this size, most of them magically or artificially enlarged. Her above-average height helped offset her bust line some, but they were still out-of-proportion with the rest of her body.
Rothin looked abashed at this. "Um, it was something that we were� uncertain of," he stammered. "We know that the Baron likes his women as buxom as possible, but we weren't sure how big to make her. We� just recently made her this size to see how much these larger breast would encumber her." Rothin looked extremely embarrassed now, "I don't think we'll have the time to reduce them back in size now, though. I will if I can, but�"
The Master held him off, annoyed only the slightest. Had the situation been less grave, he would have found it humorous. The Baron wasn't the only person that had an eye for buxom ladies it seems. "No, that is not necessary. You are right, in that they will hinder her some, but we don't have the resources now to cast any mass-reduction spells, correct?" Rothin nodded, so the master continued on. "Keep going along on her and enhance abilities as much as you can. Unless you think of an easy way to reduce her size, it would be best for you to make sure her DNA is properly finalized to her current form. I'm afraid she'll just have to learn to cope with her endowments.�
�Yes sir. We will continue our work on her.� Mirianne replied for her companion. �If you have no further instructions, I must continue with my work.�
The Master motioned for her to hold a moment, and he began to speak to the whole room now. "We were attacked at the worst possible time, but we still have a chance to bring in one spirit to use against the evil threatening our world."
"I know this is hard, and we've lost many of our friends and colleagues today, but if we fail in this task, we loose one of our few remaining advantages to the growing darkness that threatens to consume us." His voice grew resolute. "We have been tested, but we will hold true. We fight for our friends, family, and loved ones. We fight for the people of our lands� we may even be fighting for the whole world. While I was away, I have confirmed what we have all suspected that this evil threatens not only our lands, but other lands as well. That they have now so brazenly attacked us means that they fear our endeavors against them. We shall prove their fears to be true, and summon forth a champion the likes this world has not seen in this age. Let us hope that she'll be enough,� although he did not voice the last statement, it was a common thought shared by most in the room.
With that, they all continued along with their work, but within, the Master felt a cold fear. They were hoping to have seven heroes for their battle, but now they were forced to have only one. How long will it take for them to rebuild the damage done to them? Will they be able to hold out long enough to try again? He tried not to dwell on that overly much as he began to work in earnest, but there were things he knew that he had not yet told anyone, dreadful things that were serving more and more as constant a reminder to him these many years -- that he was old and weakening. Would he even survive to see the conclusion of this drama played out? Would it be enemy magics, or the ever-turning wheel of the ages that will seal his fate? He banished those thoughts from his mind as he continued in his work, but they remained at the back of his consciousness, always a part of him.

Chapter 1 - Awakening
The first thing that she can remember is something wet being placed on her head. It was rather cold too, but she didn't dwell on that very long, as a painful headache became obvious to her muddled senses. She moaned softly, and tried to put her hand to her head, but her arm must've felt as bad as the rest of her did, because it didn't do anything but twitch a bit. She heard a voice then, but it was fuzzy and indistinct. She mumbled again, and sank mercifully back into unconsciousness.
She awoke again sometime later. Her head was still sore, but not as bad as it was earlier. She tried to move a little bit, and found that she could move her arm, if a bit slow.
She realized that something fairly heavy was on top of her chest. Her first thought was that it was a restraint, but that didn't seem right as she realized that it wasn't preventing her weak movements. She could hear something in the distance, but it was fuzzy and odd sounding, so she tried instead to open her eyes. It took quite a bit more effort than she was used to, but she did get them open. Blackness was all she saw at first, and she began to think that it was evening sometime. She stared into the darkness for a minute, trying to see something, when she began to make sense of the noises she was hearing. A murmur of people talking, somebody yelling something out loud, noises she couldn't identify, and a lot of clumping that sounded a lot like a horse walking on pavement. It sounded a lot like a lot of commotion was going on someplace, and after hearing several birds chattering away, she realized that it wasn't night, but day. She realized this at about the same time that she was beginning to see some shapes in the darkness.
She lay where she was, in a bed she guessed, for a couple more minutes, waiting for her eyesight to return. All the while, she tried to figure out her situation. What's going on? Where was she? She caught her breath as the next question came to mind. Who was she? She didn't know who she was! She struggled to clear the mists from her mind, but she could remember nothing of herself, who she was, where she came from, and what her history was. Complete amnesia, she thinks is the term. Then she wonders how she even would know the term. A sigh escapes her mouth; she didn't even know what she looks like.
A sudden clunk and creek startled her from her musings, and she heard somebody thumping over to where she was laying. She turned her head to try and see whom it was. Her eyesight was getting better, but not good enough to make out much beyond a fuzzy, man-like shape.
�Ah, ya be awake!� An older man spoke out in an odd accent. �Doncha ya worry, lass, o'll take care of ya.� He thumped around irregularly, coming to stand next to the bed. A rough hand is then placed on her forehead, and is removed after a silent moment.
�Good, tha fever do seems to 'ave broken. 'ow do ya feel?�
She tried to answer, but all she was able to manage was a croak. She could see the shape of the man move around again and put something in front of her. She then felt a hand at the back of her head tilting it forward slightly, and something wooden being pressed lightly to her lips. �Drink,� She heard, and she obeyed. It was just water, but to her parched throat, it tasted like ambrosia. He allowed her to take small swallow, then removed the cup.
�Thank � you,� is the first thing she managed to say. �And, I feel horrible.�
�'ell, O'll take care of you, lass. You just relax. You're safe and sound 'ere.�
She struggled with his accent, finding it difficult to understand, until it struck her. It reminded her of an Irish, or yes, a Scottish accent. But even as she recognized the accent, she realized that she had no idea where Irish or Scottish were� no, Ireland and Scotland, that's what they're called. She turned back to her benefactor. "Where am I?" she asked.
"You do be in my house right now, in the merchant's quarter of the city," he spoke in his Scottish accent.
She thought it strange, yet interesting that she was already finding him easier to understand, now that she identified his accent. "Where� I don't know which city you're talking about" she replied.
�I'm not surprised, lass. Tell me, what do you know? What do you remember?�
She was surprised at the man's question, but she responded anyway. �I don't know anything. I don't know who I am, or anything of my past. I don't even know what I did yesterday.� She hesitated for a moment, then added, �Why do you ask? How do you know about my amnesia?�
She could see the man sitting down in a chair next to her bed, and she could almost feel him gaze at her in sympathy. �Well, all of this will take a bit to explain, and I'm afraid I don't have answers to all of your questions right now. But first, let me introduce myself. I am the Wizard Garvyn O'Riley, wizard of the Blue Stars. Last night, you appeared in my teleport chamber quite uninvited. It would seem a college of mine teleported you here, but whom it was, and for what reason I don't know. Whomever it was neglected to teleport you here with any belongings or notes of explanation, not even any clothing to cover your body. All you had on you was a pendant with the symbol of the Lost Arcanists. I know of only two people that could have teleported you here, and I suspect that they teleported you here to keep you away from somebody, or something� probably somebody from the Hand.�
Garvyn's monolog washed over her, and it did little to answer her questions. Wizards? Blue Star? The Hand? Arcanists? What's going on? Teleporting? That's impossible, but why does that sound so improbable?
Garvyn must have noticed her perplexed look, for he spoke gently to her. �I can tell that nothing of that makes much sense. Either your amnesia is worse than I thought, or you're from a long ways away. Think hard, lass. Tell me, can you remember anything about yourself? Your homeland?�
She thought about what Garvyn said, and she replied, �Your� accent. It sounds like a Scottish accent. Have you heard of� Scotland I think it is?�
She saw him shake his head, �I'm sorry lass. I don't think I've heard of that place before. Can you think of anything else? Can you even remember your name?�
She tried again to remember something, anything, but her past remained a black haze. She sighed in disappointment, and tear started to well up in her eyes. �I can't think of anything� I� don't even remember my name.�
�There, there, lass. I may at least be able to give you your name. Remember that Pendant I told you about? There was a name inscribed on it as well. 'Anaiya'. So, unless you can think of something else, Anaya it is.�
She repeated the name, accenting it slightly differently for some reason� �Anaiya�. Ahn-eye-ya.� Although the name didn't quite ring with familiarity, it did sooth her nonetheless. �It's pronounced Ahn-eye-ya.�
�Well enough then, Anaiya. Now, sleep some more, we'll talk more tomorrow.�
She realized when he said sleep, that she was indeed tired. He gave her another drink of water, and let her be, and in a few minutes, she was sound asleep again.

Chapter 2 � The Next Day
        Anaiya slept through the day and the night, not awakening until early the next morning. She opened her eyes to the sun streaming through her window, and she automatically sat up in bed. When she did so, she realized several things. One, she felt much stronger than what she did the previous day, and two, her eyesight had returned and she could see her surroundings.
        Her 'room' was a simple and small room, roughly ten or fifteen feet square. The floor and walls were made of a rough, but well-built wood, as well as the ceiling. An unlit hearth was across from the bed on the opposite wall, and next to her bed was a chair and table with a washbasin and a glass of water.
        She reached over for the glass and took a drink of the water to quench the thirst of her parched throat. After draining more than half of the glass, she reflected that, apart that she was hungry, she felt normal. Well, not counting her memory loss anyway. She still had no real idea where she was, or who she really was. Other than her name Anaiya� or at least she thinks that's her name.
        She spied a mirror next to the washbasin and realized that she didn't even know what she looked like. She reached over and picked up the hand mirror, and gazed at her reflection in bewilderment.
        In a word, she appeared beautiful. Her face was gentle and slender, with high cheekbones and piercing green eyes. Her skin was white and creamy, and soft too she realized. Vibrant red hair surrounded her visage and fell down her back. She put the mirror down and reached behind herself to find that her hair was piled up beneath her in a soft, fiery mass. She glanced at her body and ran her hands over her body. It felt so� unfamiliar to her. She could feel strength in her body that was hidden very well underneath her very feminine body. She had large breasts sitting high and proud on her chest, and beneath them she could feel a slender abdomen that again felt stronger than it should have. She yearned for a full-length mirror to see herself fully in, since her large endowments complicated seeing anything below them.
        She hefted one of her breasts, marveling at its weight. She guessed that it weighed at least five pounds, probably more. The heavy weight she felt upon her chest when she first awoke must have been her own breasts. They each seemed to be larger than a newborn child, or as big as, a volleyball? The vague memory of playing that game caused her to shiver momentarily, but it was gone before she could grasp it. Disappointed, she gazed again at her endowments. It was hard to say, since she did not have an actual volleyball to compare them with, but they were certainly close. Why did they seem so overly large? Hell, for that matter, why did they seem so foreign in the first place?
        Her reverie was interrupted by the thumping sounds of Garvyn walking towards the door. She quickly wrapped a blanket around herself just before he walked into the room.
        This was her first good look at him, and he didn't appear quite as old as she was expecting. He was somewhere in his late fifties or early sixties, with a gray, two-day old growth on his face, short black-gray hair, and a weathered, rustic look to his skin and body. He was a little underweight, and somewhat stooped, and the way he walked it appeared his left leg was lame. He had a gnarled cane in his right hand, and he was dressed overall in some unusual, but nondescript brown robes.
        He saw that she was awake, and a smile lit his face. �Ah, I see you rested well, lass. I'm glad to see that you've regained at least a bit of your strength. Tell me, how do you feel?�
        �I feel fine, I think. I'm hungry, but other than that I feel o.k.�
        �Have ye remembered anything else?�
        Anaiya sighed in regret, �Not really. I had a vague recollection of playing something called volleyball, but that's about it.� Anaiya was about to continue when Garvyn shouted a couple strange words down the stairs.
He caught her perplexed look when he turned back. �Oh, sorry lass. I was just getting some food for you. I don't know whatcha like or don't like, so I'm having some of my own leftovers brought up. Now please, continue.�
The thought of food made her mouth water, but she spoke. �I was just going to say that I looked at myself in this mirror of yours, and� looking at myself, at my body � it seems so unfamiliar. I was hoping that seeing myself would bring back memories, but it hardly brought back anything.�
Garvyn sat down in the chair next to her bed before speaking again. �What you just said, that don't surprise me much. When you first arrived here, and during the couple days you were asleep, I scanned your aura to try and learn something about you. I didn't learn much beyond two things. First, you are a person with a strong sense of Goodness inside of you. Second, your aura and your body don't seem to quite match. I don't know exactly what it means, but I'm guessing that you looked quite a bit differently in the past. Whatever might have happened to you might have caused your memory loss.
        Anaiya sat there in silence, considering his words. That would make sense, she thought. �I can see how that'd be true. Whatever would have changed me must have been something powerful. That� that could have caused my memory loss. I wonder what�� Anaiya trailed off as she saw a platter with food and a drink float into the room sans a person carrying it in. �What is that?!?� she whispered, starring at the impossible with a mixture of fear, wonderment, and curiosity.
        Garvyn looked in the direction she was looking and laughed heartily. �Oh I'm sorry lass, that's just one of my invisible servants bringing you breakfast. I'll explain it to you later, if you want, but for now it's enough to say that I use my magic for a lot of the mundane tasks around here. I have to, since I don't live with anyone else here.
        �Magic�� Anaiya whispered again. The floating platter had floated next to her bed and for a brief moment, curiosity, hunger, and fear warred within her to either take the food or bolt from her bed. Curiosity won out and she reached a trembling hand out underneath the plate, to try and feel the 'servant' there, but she felt nothing at all other than a faint tingling.
        �Magic� it's real. Actual, REAL magic!� Fear was dissipating from her rapidly and wonderment was filling her. Magic! �I� can remember reading stories about magic. I always wanted to learn magic, to even SEE magic. There's no magic where I live�� she giggled with glee. �Real magic! Oh, I wish I could see Leo's face right now!� She stopped dead in her thought process. Memories! �Leonard, an acquaintance of mine. He always looked like a crazy wizard, and pretended to know magic, but he wouldn't have known a real piece of magic if it had bitten him in the arse.
        Garvyn was rather surprised at her reaction, as well as pleased. �Do you remember anything else lass?�
        The moment was fading from her, and the remembrance ended. �No, I don't. But� this is a good sign I think. If I'm remembering things a little bit, right?�
        �Aye lass, it is a very good sign. It's hard to say what happened to you, and total memory loss like yours is very rare, but it's a very positive sign that your memories are recoverable. I've seen a couple cases in which it took years for somebody to remember even simple things. You're doing very well, lass.�
        Anaiya smiled briefly, happy to remember even something simple at that. It was then that her face turned bright red as she realized that she had dropped her covering blanket and left her impressive endowments free to view. She hurriedly grabbed the blanket and covered herself again with a small yelp of shock.
        Garvyn laughed softly to himself for a moment. �Oh lass, you don't need to worry about that. Remember, you arrived here totally naked, not to mention that I magically examined you to see if you were healthy and hale. I've seen every part of you already lass, as well as other ladies over the years that I've treated.
        He was right after all, and she half-harrumphed, and half-laughed. What would he have done, closed his eyes when he brought her here? No thank you� she'd rather get someplace in once piece rather than be dropped by somebody bumbling around.
        �I will tell ye though, lass. You are once fine piece of work, or at least your current body is. I can't say how you looked before, but now you'll be turning the eye of every man that sees you. It would seem that whomever changed you before had the notion to make you as beautiful as possible, with it seems an eye for tall red-heads with long hair and extra-large breasts.�
        �I don't know if that makes me feel better or not. I thought I was crazy when these,� she hefted one of her breasts, �seemed so foreign and big. After all, a woman should be pretty intimate with her body. I think that whatever I looked like before didn't have much in the way of a bust line.�
        �Garvyn, do you have a full-size mirror someplace I can look at myself?� Then she hesitantly added, �I� am having problems seeing over my breasts and I'm curious to know what I look like, and what my measurements are now.� She then realized a problem. �Umm, do you have any clothes or anything that will fit me?�
Garvyn looked thoughtful for a moment. �I've thought a little bit about that already, and I might have something that'll work. I have a couple of cousins that stay with me frequently, and I know they have some of their clothes here in case of an emergency. One of them is roughly your height, although not near as top-heavy as you are lass, but it's worth a try. If nothing else, I can always get you a generic robe out of my own closet. Before all of that though, I want to see you to get up out of bed and stand up. You seem healthy and strong now, but I want to make sure you can stand on your own power before I leave you be.�
Anaiya hesitated for a minute, debating whether to try and take a blanket with her, but remembered Garvyn's earlier admonition, and decided to swallow her modesty threw the covers back. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and with no effort at all, she stood up out of bed under her own power � or almost anyway. She stood up, but had to grab the table to keep her balance.
�You still a little weak lass?� Garvyn spoke up with concern. He was ready to stand up to assist her, but she waved him back down.�
�I'm fine�. I'm not weak� just� getting used to my body. She stood up straight with a rueful smile on her face. My breasts are fairly heavy. They're going to take some to get use to.�
Garvyn chuckled briefly. �I'm sure you're going have many small problems until your used to your new body. Now, see the closet in the corner?� He motioned to the tall armoire in the far corner, �When ye are ready to dress yourself, a few of my cousin's dresses are in there. And don't forget that there's food here for you also on the table. I'll be back up to check on you in a little while, or better yet, if ye feel up to it, come downstairs to stretch your legs a bit � I want to test a few more things with you.�
Garvyn stood up and began to limp back to the door. �Oh, and I'll send up a full-sized mirror and a measuring device later today so you can take your measurements, once I remember where one is. It'll be useful to have some decent clothes made for you. Melinda, one of my two cousins will be here tomorrow and she's quite the seamstress.�
With nothing more to say, Garvyn walked out the room, leaving Anaiya alone and naked in the room. She wondered for a minute whether she should dress herself first or eat, but the aroma of eggs, toast, and pork reminded her how hungry she was, and she forwent the clothing to partake of the meal that had levitated itself onto the table. She pulled up the chair and dove in, finding the meal tasty, although it did take her a couple minutes to learn how to eat around her large bosom.
The meat was spiced somewhat unusually, but not unpleasantly so, and overall the meal tasted very similar to what she used to eat periodically. Even the butter for the toast didn't taste exceptionally exotic. Even though she couldn't truly remember eating such fare, the fact that it tasted familiar was a comforting balm for her confused soul.
After finishing the last bit of her breakfast, she washed herself off using the water basin and bar of soap. It wasn't exactly a shower, but it was better than nothing. Then she walked over to the armoire for the task of finding something to wear. She noted as she walked that her breasts swayed and bobbed unfamiliarly with each step, reinforcing her belief that she had very small breasts, or none at all, before this ordeal.
There were about five dresses in the armoire, ranging from a couple elaborate gowns fit for royalty to simple 'peasant clothes'. Although a blue-sequined dress caught her eye with it's beauty, she realized as she studied it that it'd be very difficult for her to figure out how to wear, with it's complex array of clasps and buckles. So instead, she opted for simplicity for now and took out a simple white blouse and a brown skirt, along with some undergarments.
The some stockings she put on first felt comfortable on her bare feet, but the simple white shifts in the armoire she pulled out were obviously designed for a woman less endowed as her � it was cut far to low and too small to cover her breasts at all. It was still better than nothing, so she wore it the best that she could. The skirt fit fairly well, although it was a fair bit too short for her, reaching only a couple inches past her knees. The blouse was another matter though. Again, her overly large breasts made donning the garment difficult � what was intended to be a loose summer blouse proved to be barely large enough to contain her endowments. As it was, she had to leave several eyelets on the bodice unlaced, leaving a considerable amount of cleavage showing, whist her breasts strained against the rest of it. The few pair of shoes in the bottom of the armoire were unfortunately too small for her feet, so she settled with putting a second pair of stockings on her feet for now.
Finally attired, Anaiya decided to wander outside of her room to learn more about her surroundings.

Chapter 3 � Beginning to Learn
        Anaiya walked out of her room, and stood on a balustrade inside of the structure she was in. From her vantage point, it appeared to be a two-story structure. The second level consisted of the balustrade she stood on, and circled half of the house. Six doors lay around the perimeter of the balustrade, with staircases on each end of the walkway going down. Looking over the railing, she saw a large, clean dining room, with a large table surrounded by perhaps a dozen chairs. Nothing appeared overly elegant, but simple and well made.
        She noticed that everything about the building appeared to be made of either stone or wood, something she found fascinating and odd at the same time. She made her way to the stairs and walked down to what she presumed was the ground floor of the structure, and heard voices coming from one of the open rooms. Curious, she decided to investigate the voices.
        Peaking around the doorframe, she saw a library. Not an exceptionally large on in her mind, but cozy looking. There were perhaps twenty feet of bookshelves along one wall, with several tables and chairs scattered about. There were several unusual apparatus scattered about the room, one of which seemed to be the source of the voices, with Garvyn sitting beside it.
        No, he wasn't sitting beside it, he was sitting and gazing into it � a large orb of glass, and she could faintly see images dancing around in the orb. Curious, she walked further into the room, and took two steps when Garvyn looked up at her and smiled.
        �Ah, hello there lass. Decided to stretch your legs, eh? Here, come over here, I'd like you to meet somebody.�
        Bewildered, she walked over to the glass globe he was sitting at. As she approached it, she realized that she could see a woman inside of the globe. An older woman that still held some of her blonde beauty, and seemed to be looking straight back at her. And speaking to her too!
        �Well Garvyn,� the woman spoke to her through the orb. �You were not kidding when you said she was beautiful. Seems like she squeezed herself into one of my old dresses. Looks like she's ready to explode out of it though.� The image laughed as Anaiya's face turned red. �Oh, I'm sorry Anaiya, I am being rather rude. I'm Melinda, one of Garvyn's cousins. I'm going to be watching over his place for a few days while he's off on a business trip. If cousin dear hasn't explained it yet, he will soon.� Melinda's face turned to Garvyn and continued speaking. �Speaking of which cousin, the soonest I can get to your place is the day after tomorrow. Are you sure you can't tell your friends to wait for an extra day to start your vacation?�
        Garvyn shook his head at the image. �Sorry Mel, but this meeting is very critical. We need this alliance. Eventually the Hand will come hunting us down like they have with rogue guilds in the past, it's only a matter of time. I have to make sure the Counsel agrees to it. I think they'll go with it, but Jansen and Ortega are somewhat skeptical still.�
        �Aye, I know� just go enjoy yourself afterwards though. This was supposed to be a vacation originally, you know. And don't worry about your new apprentice, I'll take care of her.�
        Anaiya looked at Garvyn with bewilderment as alarm and mock indignation filled his features. �What makes you think that I'll be taking Anaiya as an apprentice? Granted, it looks like she has some talent, but I'm getting too old for apprentices��
Melinda has a mischievous look on her face. �I know you Garvy, you're just too much of a softie when it comes to damsels in distress. Anaiya dear, I have some stories about your soon-to-be-master from our younger adventuring days.�
Anaiya tried hard not to laugh as Garvyn's face became even more alarmed, and an interesting shade of red. �Are you sure you two aren't bother and sister? You certainly sound like it.�
Melinda's image spoke up before Garvyn could reply. �Garvyn, my sister Cathryn and myself all grew up together. By blood relation we're cousins, but Cathryn and myself lived with his parents since we were toddlers when our parents died. So, we're cousins, but also close to each other like siblings. Not to say that's an entirely good thing.�
Garvyn signed in exasperation and this time Anaiya couldn't keep a giggle from her lips. �Alright Melinda, I'm ending my spell now. Go terrorize somebody else for a bit, alright?� He spoke more seriously now, �and please come here as fast as ye can. I don't really expect any troubles while I'm gone, but I don't want to leave Anaiya alone right now. She's bubbling with questions and she's going need somebody to help her."
�Farewell Garvyn. I'll get there as soon as I can, and I look forward to meeting you Anaiya. I'll get you set up with some decent clothes. I used to run a successful tailoring business quite a few years ago, and I can sew you up some lovely dresses for you.�
Anaiya smiled at the image in the orb. �Thank you Melinda. Garvyn said you were a skilled Seamstress. I look forward to meeting you also, and I appreciate the help you both are giving me.�
        Garvyn spoke last. �Farewell Mel.� He spoke a couple syllables, na tro and Melinda's face faced from the orb. He sighed for a minute, and then turned to Anaiya. �Sit down, lass. I have to tell you a few things here.�
        Anaiya silently obeyed and sat down in an overstuffed and comfortable chair near the glass orb. As soon as she was seated, Garvyn began to talk.
        �As you may have guessed from my conversation from Melinda, I am leaving pretty soon. In fact, I'll be leaving in a few hours. I have an important meeting with my fellow guild mates and council members. I am half-tempted to bring you along, but I decided that staying here would be the best for you, and so I scryed Melinda yesterday for her to come watch over you while I'm gone.
        �I can't take the time to explain exactly what my meeting is about, since your knowledge of the world is nonexistent. Instead, I'll leave you some history books on the land and such. Melinda won't be here for about a day after I leave, so it'll give you something to do, and when she comes she can explain any questions you may have.�
        Garvyn stood up holding several rolled up pieces of paper. He walked to where Anaiya was sitting and set the scrolls on the table next to her. She looked up at him in confusion, but he answered her question before she could voice it.�
        �I said earlier that I wanted to test you a little bit today. As you might have heard from Mel, I think you have some spell talent in you. I don't know how much, but I can sense the spark within you. Now, I want you to pick up those scrolls and tell me if you can read the titles on them. Don't worry if you can't read them. Most new apprentices can't decipher a word, but there's always the rare student that has the inborn ability.�
        Anaiya trembled a bit at Garvyn's words. He can sense the spark within me. This was her wildest dream come true. Real Magic, and here's he's saying that I have the talent to learn? With a trembling hand, she picked up the rolled-up scrolls and read the runic writings on the edge of each one.
        Her eyes widen in surprise as she looked at each one. Although she couldn't remember ever seeing the angular script the scrolls were written in, it flowed together into meaningful words as if she had been reading it all of her life. She recited in quavering voice, �Detect Magic, Identify, Dancing Lights, Darkness, and Ghosts Sounds. I� this writing is not familiar to me at all, but� I can read it like I've always known it.�
        Garvyn looked quite amazed, but pleased. �Amazing. I've only met one other student that passed that first test. He was one of my college's students. Bright lad he was. Now, open up the Dancing Lights scroll and tell me what you can read inside of it.
        Grinning nervously, she picked up the requested scroll again and unrolled it fully. The script inside was more elaborate and complex, but as before she could read it perfectly. �It's not a language like English� it's more like a set of instructions to cast this spell; gestures, mindset, gathering the �ther around me in primal accordance before beginning to shape it into��
She trailed off with a glance at Garvyn, whom watched her with growing amazement. He was silent for a moment before quietly speaking. �Incredible. You shouldn't be able to make out more than a few portions of that spell, but you speak like a seasoned mage. Lass, I want to actually try and cast that spell.�
Her thoughts raced at his command. What? He thinks I can actually cast a spell? I'm never even seen magic before today! She almost put down the scroll right then and there, but she instead returned to reading the scroll. Primal Accordance, Shaping the Perculum � terms she never heard before, but she somehow understood. She could not explain how, but she felt her spirit reach out to something intangible, and without thought, she began to manipulate it in the method the scroll proscribed. As she did so, she felt herself filled with the intangible force she was reaching for, and felt alive and enervated in a way she could not describe, and before she knew it, she completed the final incantations of the spell and immediately a sphere of blue light appeared before her outstretched palm.
Garvyn looked at her with astonishment plain on his face. It wasn't long however before he recovered and laughed heartily. �Lass, this is extraordinary! Never in my live have I ever seen anything like this before, or even heard of. Not only can you read magical script, you can understand it. I want to say you've had magical training before, but your aura, when I read it, had no imprints on it on ever casting spells, not to mention the fact you said that magic doesn't exist where you're from � � He trailed off as his gaze slid down from her bemused expression, to the glowing ball of light floating over her one hand. Something caught his eye, what was � the scroll still in her other hand. A socked expression appeared on his face, �the scroll�� he mouthed, and quickly snatched it out of her hand and looked at it.
Anaiya was still somewhat in shock at what she'd just done, staring at the blue-white globe of light in her hand and almost didn't notice Garvyn snatching the scroll out of her other hand. But it did break her reverie enough that she looked past the light and at Garvyn.
He seemed at a loss to say, his mouth opening and closing but nothing coming out. Anaiya's heart dropped. What had happened? Did she do something horrible? She was just about to voice her concerns and worries but Garvyn recovered slightly faster and spoke first.
�Lass� you've just done the impossible. Do you know that?�
Bewilderment replaced worry in Anaiya. �No I don't, other than casting my first ever magic spell, something I never expected to do. Is that it?�
Garvyn shook his head negative. �No, it's more than that. The scroll you read was supposed to have disintegrated when you cast the spell, or at the very least the writing should have disappeared.� He waved the scroll towards her and she could very well see that the scroll was not blank. �You cast the spell from the scroll, but did not drain the magic from the scroll, and in fact, you looked beyond the scroll and saw the core instructions behind the spell and cast it as if you had studied the spell out of a spellbook. For the way that magic is understood in these ages, nobody knows how to do such a thing. It has been studied to death in the past in an attempt to do what you just did, but nobody's ever figured out how. Tell me, how do you feel?�
She stopped for a moment and thought for a moment, to let reality set in. I just cast a spell. I can cast MAGIC! A smile broke her face, and a tear tricked out her eye. �I feel fine, happy, elated. I did it. I cast a spell! Me!� Her knees grew weak and she started laughing and crying. Reality had crashed in on her mind and it was reeling. To her, the impossible was casting a spell, and she had done that. Perhaps her heart's greatest desire was to cast magic, and she had done it!
Garvyn meanwhile stood only a couple feet away watching her with a tear of his own at his eye. He had seen this happen once before, with a peasant girl about fifty years ago by the name of Rosana. She had broken down learning that she had the spark to learn magic and became one of his apprentices. In a way, he reflected, Anaiya was probably much like Rosana. She had desired to learn magic more so than anything else in her life, but never expected her strict father to allow her to learn. Anaiya probably desired it the same way, but judging from what she said earlier, wherever she was from magic did not exist. Whatever magic existed outside of the storybooks was probably just sleight of hand. He knew of nowhere on Corlin where magic wasn't considered real. Even lost and fabled Renath had magic as well. So if she's not from Corlin, or her sister planet of Renath, where is she from? Ol' Corwall is going to choke when I tell him this!
Garvyn knelt down and placed a hand on Anaiya's shoulder. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks and a dazzling smile on her face. She tried to stammer out an apology for breaking down like that, but he waved her off. �Don't bother apologizing. There's nothing to be sorry about.� He chuckled briefly. �My cousin was right, I'm going to adopt you as my apprentice. As soon as I get back from my trip, Melinda and myself will be working with you to see exactly how much potential you have in you, and what training you may have already had.
Anaiya sniffed away some of her tears, and spoke in a shaky voice. �Garvyn. I don't know what to say or how to thank you for what you've done for me.�
�Hush. No need for you to think like that. There's no need to repay me at all like that. I could not toss you out in good conscious. Although,� he chuckled again, �if you feel up to it, you can help me pack for my trip.�
Grateful for a chance to assist her benefactor, she helped him stand up from the floor, and followed him back upstairs.

Chapter 4 � A Dash of History and Solitude
The next few hours passed rather quickly for Anaiya. Although Garvyn's trip was primarily business, he wanted to do a few things for his own pleasure as well. �The city of Gochica is the jewel of Amerla,� he explained. �It's several hundred miles south of here, on the south shore of Gochica Sea. I was planning on visiting there soon, and since I have to go down there anyway, I want to do a few things while I'm there. There's an old college of mine that I want to visit, and there's some old ruins I've always wanted to look at. With all of the wars going on, there are so precious few people studying the past.�
They were both back downstairs in the library, sifting through some old scrolls for his trip. Anaiya's head rose from the stack of scrolls she was searching through at the mention of war. �War? What do you mean exactly? Your country is at war with somebody?�
Garvyn replied from his own pile of oddities on his table. �Sort of, yes. This world has not been at peace for the last several hundred years. Most of the fighting currently is a thousand miles east of here, in the lands of Nanchatka and Eropa. But it's more than just countries that are battling each other; it's different ideologies that are fighting each other. Pass me that scroll, would you?
The redhead passed the scroll he pointed to � a tattered scroll containing notes to something or other. �As in separate factions and such?�
�Yes, very much so, and it's broken down the different lines of magic in the world. In a very simplified description, there are three main schools of Power � Arcane Magic is what I use, as well as any wizard or mage in the world. Divine Magic is the power of the gods or some big source of magic. The Church of the Divine worships of many Deities, and they all claim their power comes from them. Whether that's true or not, we don't know. Their magic is different than ours though, and that's enough for most people to continue fighting. The third school isn't magic at all, but the ability to do things with your mind. Psionics, telepathy, telekinesis amongst other things are what they do. I don't know much about them at all, and although they don't command powerful armies like the Church or the Hand does, they're still a force to be reckoned with. The practitioners of those powers call themselves Enlightened, and they are the ones that strive the most towards peace.�
�You've mentioned the Hand several times. What, or who are they?�
Garvyn made a surprised sound. �You mean I've not told you yet? I'm sorry, my mistake. Their full name is The Essence Hand, and they're the largest group of Wizards that have ever existed. They're the main ruling force for this country, and is the main driving force in keeping at war with the Church. I was once a member of the Hand, in my youth, but I left a long time ago. I never quite proscribed to their dogma, and I was strongly ridiculed when I kept pressing for a peace treaty to end the wars.�
Anaiya looked thoughtful, �and that's what you meant when I heard you telling your cousin about an alliance. There are smaller guilds of wizards that exist, and the Hand doesn't much like competition, right?�
�Yes, very good. There are dozens of small guilds in the world, with more appearing than ever before. The Hand just hates this, but with the current bloodthirstiness of the ruling party of the Hand, more and more members are striking out on their own. Most of these Rogue Guilds are eventually discovered and eliminated by the Hand, but as more guilds are forming, their ability to deal with them is waning. Which, comes to my business trip. My Guild, The Blue Stars, was approached by another guild called the Crimson Moon. They had a rough run-in with the Hand not long ago, and were almost decimated. The remaining members are looking for a new guild to ally themselves with, or even become a part of. There are not a lot of them left, but they still have a great deal of magical resources that will help our guild out tremendously should the Hand start pursuing us more aggressively. Not to mention that I don't want to leave anybody to the mercies of the Hand. As I said before, they've become more brutal over these last few years.�
�Garvyn, here's that analyze dweomer scroll you were wanting.� Anaiya said, rolling the scroll over to him. �You also mentioned the Arcanists when I first spoke to you. Are they another rogue guild?�
Garvyn put the scroll, along with several others, inside of a case and closed it. �No. They are, or were, a fourth guild of magic. They dealt directly with the primal forces of the �ther, the energy that permeates the world and makes magic possible. Their understanding of magic was very different from what is called Arcane magic today. Magic is handled in a very linear fashion in today's world, unlike how it was handled by the Arcanists ages ago. It was powerful magic, but very difficult to perform. As the relatively simpler magics that now dominate today's world became widespread, the number of Arcanists dwindled. Then, almost 400 years ago, the then-new Essence Hand Guild struck and wiped out most of the Arcanists. Since then, the Arcanists have not existed as a major power. There are still a few of them in the world, slowly rebuilding their power. In fact, I once met a person that was probably an Arcanist, but that was many years ago. I wish I knew how to contact one of them and ask them about you. It's very possible that you may have had some training with them in your past.�
Garvyn closed his last scroll case and stood up. �As much as I'd like to continue our discussion, I must be off. As it is, I'm probably going to be a little late.� He paused a moment, and slapped his forehead. �Ach, I forgot about your history books, oh, and your mirror as well. Let's see� there's a mirror in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs, I think in Christyn's room next to yours. Rummage around in your room for a measuring tape, that room is where Melinda usually stays. As for the history books�� he walked over to a bookshelf and indicated several shelves, �most of them are going to be here. Oh, and there's a few blank books here as well. I suggest you claim one book as your own and start writing yourself a journal. Maybe take two books, one for day-to-day happenings, and one to write down things you remember about yourself. Come with me now lass. I want to give you one last thing on my way out. Leave the scrolls as they are � you can straighten them up later.�
Garvyn led Anaiya out off the room and downstairs to a well-lit hallway made completely of stone. Along the walls � three on each side � were floating balls of golden light, casting a golden sheen on the hallway. There were several doors along the short hallway � two on each side. Each door was roughly sixty feet down from its mate on each wall. The hallway itself was perhaps one hundred feet from the stairway to a wall. �The two doors on the left are special storage rooms, mostly with odd-and-ends I've gathered over the years. Both doors are magically sealed, in the outside chance that somebody actually breaks in. The first door on the right is my laboratory, where I perform various magical experiments.
�The last door on the right is my teleport chamber. It's the room where I found you. Only certain people can use my chamber � it's enchanted to keep out unauthorized entries. When I sensed that somebody had teleported in, I assumed it was just a friend that decided to drop by unannounced. Not something I enjoy, but it's happened a few times. When I saw you in there though, unconscious and lying naked in the center of the room, I knew something was up. First I magically divined to see if you were somehow dangerous, and what your general alignment was. When it showed that there was no danger within you, I took you upstairs and put you to bed. Right after I put you to bed is when you muttered, 'who am I'. You muttered that, and a few other incomprehensible words until you awoke late yesterday. You know what transpired from there.�
They walked down the hallway and Garvyn opened the first door on the right � his laboratory � and followed him in. It was not an exceptionally large room, perhaps thirty feet square, and was filled with tables, books, shelves, alchemical apparatuses, charts, scrolls � everything that a wizard needs, she figured. It wasn't exceptionally cluttered however, there were a few books and scrolls on one of the tables, but otherwise, the room was well organized, like the library upstairs. Like the hallway, this room was well lit by several floating globes of golden radiance.
Here's where I keep most of my spellbooks, and scrolls and items I'm making. The Library upstairs is where I keep most of my finished scrolls, as well as non-magical lore.� He led Anaiya to the back corner of the lab, past a bubbling array of tubes and vials, to a small bookshelf in the corner. The books it held were unremarkable from the other books she'd seen in the library, except most of these appeared to be fairly new, and all had the same symbol on the bottom of the spine � a stylized G with a blue star in the center of it. She had a hunch that those were Garvyn's spellbooks, which was confirmed when he spoke next.
This is my library of spells. Let see, I want this one for my trip,� he muttered as he pulled out a large tome. He set it down on a nearby table and immediate pulled out a second, more worn book. �Haven't opened this book in ages. This is one of my old apprentice books. This is something for you, Anaiya,� he handed the book to her. �I've been mulling over the idea of letting you study some magic for the last couple hours. It's full mostly of beginner spells, Cantrip spells as they're usually called, but there are a few advanced spells towards the end of the book. Nothing too harmful, mostly divination, illusion, and a couple alteration spells.�
Anaiya gazed at the spellbook in her hands with desire. A real spellbook, and he was going to allow her to learn. Unsupervised? The thought occurred to her. Why was he doing this? She voiced her concern.
Garvyn shrugged with a slightly puzzled look of his own. �Why do I trust you with this? I can't quite say for sure. It's something about you, I think. I just have this feeling you'll be better off with some spells to study. Call it a hunch, but I feel like if I don't leave you with something, I'll be denying you something.� He sighed heavily a moment. �I get these hunches sometimes, and they're rarely wrong. I don't know how it'll help you, but having that spellbook will somehow. Maybe studying spells will help you regain more of your memory. After all, you appear to have been previously trained at one time.
The uncertainty of his voice faded and a more stern tone entered into it. �Do not look through these other books. Some of them are trapped, and will seriously harm an unauthorized person. Others contain spells that are not meant for the uninitiated. In your case, I would study the spells you have in your book. When I return, we will see how difficult of spells you can comprehend. He picked up his spell and put it in his bag that he left at the entrance. �Come along now, I must leave.� When both of them were out of the room, he closed the door, and he lead them to the last room � the teleport chamber.
It was a barren chamber no more than twenty feet on a side, devoid of any furnishings. The only features of the room was one of the familiar floating globes of light over the doorway, and several white circles inscribed onto the floor and walls of the room. There was one circle on each wall, and one on the floor. Each was perfectly round, roughly ten feet in diameter, and made of a white chalk. As Anaiya looked closer, she realized that it was not chalk they were made of, but different colored stones, each stone shaped perfectly to keep the circle uniform. In fact, she realized, the whole room was of higher construction � each stone fitted perfectly with it's neighbor and the whole room seemed almost a perfect box.
�There's not much here, except for the high-quality stone working. The circles you see are what focus the fabric of reality here in such a way that eases teleportation to and from here. It's a sort of beacon, which only myself, and a select few others can use. Anybody unauthorized that tries to teleport here is generally sent way off course, and if anybody tries to teleport while inside of my house doesn't go anywhere. I'll not go into the details of it, but suffice to say, it keeps anybody from teleporting anywhere inside my residence. Melinda and Christyn are the only other two people that can teleport here, and speaking of which, Melinda will be teleporting here and will arrive in this room. Don't be surprised when she doesn't show up knocking on the front door.�
Garvyn carried his single bag and his walking staff to the circle and turned around facing Anaiya. �If anybody else happens to come by the house, send them on their way. I used to do a lot of woodworking, and I still get the occasional contract for work. It's pretty unlikely that anybody will drop by though. Just let everybody know that I'm out-of-town for a few days and you're watching over my residence. Nobody in the city is even aware I'm a mage. To everybody here, I'm just a retired woodworker that did good work.�
Garvyn sighed heavily. �I could keep standing here for hours telling you things you should know. I wish I didn't have to leave you hear by yourself, but this meeting is very important. I wish Melinda could get here sooner, but she has her own responsibilities she must attend.�
This time is was Anaiya's turn to hush Garvyn. �Garvyn, you've done all that you can do for me. You gave me a rough idea how important your meeting was, so I understand.� A smile appeared on her lips, �and as I recall, Melinda said you were supposed to relax a bit on this trip. Take your time and enjoy yourself. You said yourself that nothing is likely to happen. You pointed out those history books and geography books to me, so I can learn much about the world from there. Melinda will be here in a day or two as you said. I can manage on my own for that long. There's enough food and drink to easily last a month.�
�Aye, I know. It's just that your appearance was so unexpected. I don't like leaving a patient alone after so short of time.�
�Is it because you're leaving a stranger in your house?�
�Maybe a little, but as I said, I have this feeling about you, that I can trust you. Even without my magic, I can feel the goodness in you. It's not often that I can sense good or evil in a person unaided, but when I can, it's never wrong.�
They both stood there silent for a moment looking at each other. Even though she'd only been awake and conscious for a day, she already felt admiration towards Garvyn � not a romantic attachment, but more of a fatherly attachment. It would have surprised her right then to know that Garvyn was feeling the same kind of attachment to her � she reminded him so very much of his daughter that had passed away twenty years ago. Later, after he left, he would reflect that in only a short day they had formed a father-daughter bond right there � a bond that helped to fill a void in his heart he wasn't even aware of.
For now, however, he finally stepped backwards into the teleport circle. �Farewell lass. Take care.�
        A radiant smile once again alighted on her features. �You too, Garvyn. Thank you for everything.� She hugged her spellbook to her bosom.
        With a smile on his lips, Garvyn chanted his teleportation spell, and in moments, he disappeared with a soft, silent flare of blue light.
        She stared at the now-empty circle for a moment, then turned around and left the chamber. She headed back upstairs, wondering what to do next. She was torn between either studying history, or studying magic. It was late in the day and she realized that there was one other thing to do before doing either � eating dinner. Giggling softly to herself, she made her way to the kitchen to best fix herself something to eat.

Chapter 5 � Beginning her Studies
        Later that evening, after eating supper and cleaning up the library, Anaiya tried to read a little bit of the history of the world, she discovered that Garvyn's mundane library was not nearly as well organized as his magical library. The books she started reading ranged anywhere from a treatise on the nobility of Old Cantor (wherever that was), to the history of the longsword (which was so dull it threatened to put her to sleep after only two paragraphs). Many books that she opened remained opened for only a few minutes, and were swiftly discarded in a pile next to her.
Her research wasn't completely a disappointment. She did find a few pieces of immediate interest and usefulness. First, the planet that she currently resided on was called Corlin. It also was the name of the singular landmass that most of humanity resided on. Upon looking at a map of the world, she found that at least ninety percent of the world's landmasses were all grouped together in one gigantic landmass. This triggered another memory of hers, that her world had roughly seven continents and at least three or four landmasses. She still could not quite remember the names of any of the lands from her home (aside from Scotland and Ireland), but the fact that both the geography of the planet and its very name cemented the fact that she was indeed from a different world. She jotted down in one of her new journals what she suddenly remembered about her own home world. �Third planet around a yellow or yellow-green sun, nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Ocean covered, what, 70% of Earth?� Oh, yes! Earth! �Earth is the name of my world.� That information pleased her greatly. At least she at least had a rough idea where she was from. Now if I can just figure out where Earth is in relation to where I am. Unfortunately, she found very little astronomical information in Garvyn's library, so any further research into that line of thought was postponed for a while.
The second interesting piece was the odd technology level of the world. From a mundane level, the world appeared to be at roughly a late-medieval era, but the presence of magic in the world seemed to replace technology in many aspects. Transportation from one place to another was oftentimes accomplished by magical teleporting. In better times, it appeared that the world enjoyed an overall technology level similar to the Industrial Age. However, as Garvyn had said, the world has been at war almost constantly for the last several hundred years, and the luxuries of certain kinds of magic became less and less widespread. Consequently, the overall level of the world halted at a mix of medieval and renaissance. Fighters still used fairly heavy armor and weapons, but citizenry was more �worldly� and had a little better standard of living than the medieval peasants she remembered from her own world. Interesting in how I can make some comparisons to my world like this, but I still don't remember what kind of technology my own world possessed. Quite a bit higher, I'd guess, but I don't remember exactly.
The final interesting piece of information was the frequent reference to a place called Renath. Mostly, it was written about as a fabled lost land from a distant past, who's reappearance would usher in a new age of peace and prosperity. However, beyond that, she did not find out much as to what exactly Renath was, or what happened to it. It did remind her of a similar legend from her own home � the lost city or continent of Atlantis. She wondered if this Renath sank beneath the ocean like Atlantis did, but the fragmented references to Renath did not hint as to its fate. Several passages talked about Renath and Corlin together, so she suspected that Renath might have been a great landmass like Corlin. It must have been quite a cataclysm that sunk such a large continent. I wonder what it was. Yet another question to answer later, but not now.
She stretched in her chair and yawned. It was growing dark outside, and it was becoming hard to read. She remembered the dancing lights spell she cast earlier that day, and was wishing she had that scroll handy somewhere to cast it again � it'd be quite useful right then. Smiling, she let her thoughts dwell on that spell; the formula she used to cast it and the sensations she felt when she cast the spell. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she realized that she could remember the formula and process to cast the spell! Can I cast it without the scroll? Dare I try? She hesitated only for the briefest of moments, and decided to try and cast it. She let her consciousness reach out as it did before, and she manipulated the unseen force she felt before into the spell. In a space of time only slightly longer than her hesitation, four balls of soft white light appeared before Anaiya, hovering in mid-air.
She smiled broadly as the globes of light floated in front of her casting a pale radiance over the room. �I feel much safer using these for light instead of a candle,� she said aloud to herself. With a small mental effort, she moved the balls of light to circle around her. Pleased with her efforts at making light, she stood up and headed upstairs. Once in her room, she realized that the thrill of casting another spell had wakened her up. She stared at the armoire for a moment before remembering that the tape measure that Garvyn mentioned was probably in there. Opening it up, she rummaged around the bottom for a minute before procuring it. Once that was in her possession, she decided to head next door to see If the mirror Garvyn spoke of was in there.
Sure enough it was there, next to an armoire looking much like the one in her own room. The mirror was a beautiful piece of work � it was very large, easily as tall as she was high, and at least half as wide. It was mounted in a sturdy wooden stand carved with flowing vines and leaves. As soon as she saw herself in the mirror, she laughed a bit. Melinda's comment earlier about her tight dress was completely accurate. She was already growing accustomed to her body and her dress, but seeing herself again she realized that she was indeed ready to pop out of the blouse. She wondered if the armoire in here would hold any better clothing, but she decided to check that later. Instead, she stripped herself down out of her clothes and laid them on the bed, and took a long look at her naked body in the mirror.
Her initial estimate of herself held true � she was beautiful, nay, gorgeous. Her hair flowed down past her shoulders and to her knees in a vibrant mass, and was a bright, almost apple-red color. Her skin was creamy-white, and almost glowed in the soft radiance of her spheres of light. Her abdomen was trim and her waist narrow, and it flared out to wide (but not too wide), womanly hips that then narrowed down into long, strong legs.
Her most predominate feature on her body (or so she thought) was her breasts. Looking at them in the mirror, they didn't seem quite as big as when she first examined them, but after a day of learning to work, eat, and read around them, she know the image in the mirror was only an illusion. They were round and magnificent, resting high on her chest, dominating much of her upper torso, and topped with pink, smallish, and perfectly round nipples and areola. She hefted one of her breasts, trying to get an idea of its weight, upping her first estimate by several pounds � perhaps weighing as much as ten. I'm just massive! It helps that I'm so tall, she thought, but even so, her breasts were out-of-proportion with the rest of her body.
Enough of that, time to get some actual measurements. She retrieved her measuring tape from the bed and began to take her basic measurements. There were two sets of markings on the tape � one for what appeared the English system, and the other for what could be the Metric system. Surprised, she filed that bit of info away in her brain for later examination (how would their measuring systems be something familiar to her?). She did not dwell overly long on it right then though, and proceeded to take her measurements, something she found challenging since the tape wasn't long enough to gauge her height, nor wrap around her bosom. In the end she was victorious, and she got a good estimate on her basic dimensions. Walking over to the bed, she retrieved her memory journal (as she was starting to call it) and wrote down her measurements.
�Anaiya, no last name: White Caucasian Female, approximate age between 19 and 24,� she hesitated for a moment at her writing style, and then laughed. �I'm writing a missing person's report on myself!� Her laughter trailed off rather abruptly however as she realized the terrible irony of her statement. She was a missing person, and she still had no idea where she was missing. A sudden wave of homesickness welled up inside of her. Even though she could not remember her home, the feeling was there nevertheless. She fought it down however the best she could, and returned to her book. She continued as before, the irony of her information a fitting mate for her mood.
�Anaiya, no last name: White Caucasian Female, approximate age between 19 and 24. Height approximately 6'0�, +/- 2 inches. Weight unknown, speculating approximately between 140 and 160 pounds. Chest Measurement is approximately 37 inches in circumference, bust measures approximately 47 inches. Results in perhaps an II-Cup? (Initial guess was GG-sized, but subject's height made breasts appear smaller). Waist measures 24 inches, and hips measure 37 inches. Best guess of overall dimensions: 6'0�; 160 lbs; 37II-24-37�
She stopped writing there, unable to go any further. Her fatigue had returned, and she was loosing the battle against the homesickness and depression. She left her book and clothes on the bed in this room and walked back to her own room. Once there, she threw back the covers on her bed and crawled in straight away, scarcely noticing that her globes of light had disappeared just before she entered the room.
In the darkness, her homesickness returned, and questions swirled in her mind. Who was she? Where was she from? Will she ever see her home again? What was her family? Did she have parents, siblings, or children? What might they be doing now? Where was she now? She was no closer to discovering any of these answers now than when she first awoke.
Alone, in the darkness, with these questions swirling through her mind, she wept.

Chapter 6 � Disguises and Deceptions
        She awoke the next morning to the morning sunlight streaming in the window, the same thing that awoke her the previous morning. She sat up, somewhat groggily, trying to remember anything new. Her mood was a little better than the night before � a weight weighed heavily on her soul, a weight that would not lift until she learned more of herself. As she contemplated her day, she spied her spellbook lying on the table next to her bed. The thought of magic however brought a smile to her face, and banished some of the depression hovering over her, and as it did so, she decided that she would study magic today instead of history. That should raise my spirits up, she thought. She rose out of bed, and cleaned herself off in the washbasin (she realized it must have been magical, as it was filled with cool, clear water already), retrieved her clothes still in the other room, dressed herself. Fully attired again (or best she could be with her limited wardrobe), she decided for forgo breakfast for a bit and returned to her room. She retrieved her spellbook off of the cold mantle above the fireplace, and sat on her bed with it.
        Examining the book itself for a moment, she realized that it was a fairly old book � bound in leather and worn, but still sturdy and in good shape. The whole book itself was the size of a large dictionary � roughly a foot wide, almost two feet high, and six inches thick. An elegant �G� in silver adorned the cover of the book which she realized was an earlier, simpler version of the very elaborate �G� she saw on the newer books in Garvyn's library. Must be Garvyn's personal sigil she though. The whole thing weighed roughly ten pounds � about as heavy as one of her breasts she thought wryly.
        Opening the book, she found the same angular writing as she found in the scroll, and just like the scroll, she found she could read the writing perfectly. The first page seemed to contain a list of all of the spells in the book �twenty-three in all. She noticed that the script grew narrower and narrower as it reached the bottom of the page. She smiled to herself as she realized that it meant that he misjudged his handwriting, and had to squeeze the last few spell names on the bottom of the page.
�What spells do we have here now?� she spoke out loud to herself. �Detect Magic, Read Magic, good ol' Dancing Lights. How about Detect Magic?� she flipped to the first spell in the book and started reading the spell. The angular script was again more complex, but she understood it completely. Instead of casting this spell immediately, however, she merely read and studied the script this time. She read it for about a minute, then closed the book. After closing it, she thought back to the spell she just studied, and just like the Dancing Lights spell, she could remember Detect Magic with perfect clarity. Do I have photographic memory? She let her mind wander back to something else, to one of the history books she read yesterday. She could remember the basic idea of the history book, but not with the crystal clarity that she could recall her spells. Weird. It seems I have eidetic memory when it comes to spell, but not to anything else. Shrugging at that oddity, she decided to cast her newly studied spell.
With hardly an effort, she bent the �ther to her will, and in less than a second, she had successfully cast her third lifetime spell. As soon as the spell was complete, she could feel the spell take hold, and several items in her vision started to glow blue. Her spellbook, glowed a very faint blue, and as she suspected her washbasin also glowed a soft blue. Nothing else in the room detected as magic, so she returned to her book and began reading again. She found immediately that reading the softly glowing book was somewhat disconcerting, so with a mental effort she ended her Detect magic spell before reading further.
She began to leaf though the book, glancing at each spell briefly to see what it did, although not stopping long enough to dedicate the spell to memory. Dancing Lights, Ray of Frost, Light, and Prestidigitation. Then she noticed that the spells became more complex � Obscuring Mist, Color Spray, Comprehend Languages, and Shield. She chose the Shield spell and studied that for a minute. It was a little more complex, but not much, and she soon found that she could cast that spell as easily as her other spells. Although she could not see her newly cast defensive spell, she felt a slight tingle as she waved her hand in front of her where the shield was. Not bothering to end this spell, she flipped the page to the next spell, and stopped.
�Alter Self,� she read. Now that spell looked interesting. Intrigued, she decided to examine that spell closer. The spell formulae, she found, was more complex than even the Shield spell, but she found that she had no harder time understanding it than the other spells, although she did have to spend a little longer reading this one to fully understand the parameters and formulae of the spell. It appeared that this spell this spell actually altered her physical body temporarily, for perhaps two hours or more. This could be fun, as well as useful. I have to try this. She put her spellbook down and focused on casting the spell. Despite being the most-advanced spell that she'd attempted, she found that she was able to cast this spell as easily as her previous ones. She focused on her body, debating briefly what to change on herself. I think I can start by shrinking my breasts down and see what it's like without those monstrosities. She focused on her new form, and she felt her breasts tingle and felt them shrink and meld into her chest, leaving her completely flat chested.
She finished her spell and marveled at the results. Her blouse now fit very loosely on her, and it felt strange not having the weight of her breasts no longer tugging her down. She giggled and got up from her chair and walked next door to Christyn's old room. She took off her blouse and looked in the large mirror. She whistled in amazement at her image; she looked considerably different. Her face looked the same, but the rest of body looked considerably thinner. She gazed at herself for a bit and decided that, although the loss of her breast weight could be handy if she wanted to do some jogging, it felt like something was missing. She decided to end her spell, but she ended it slowly, and watched her breasts slowly rise back out of her chest, like a couple balloons inflating. She noted yet again at how firm they remained, and even as they reached their normal size, they remained remarkably high on her chest.
She was debating what to do next when she remembered the armoire in the room � the one belonging to Christyn. She had forgotten about it last night due to her fatigue and despair. Now that she remembered it, she opened up to look at the clothes therein. The clothes she found though were quite a surprise to her. With growing amusement she realized that Christyn was not tall and slender like her sister, but instead was short and fat. Quite fat too, from what she could tell from the garments. She giggled as an That gave her an idea, and she tossed the garments on the bed, and took off her own skirt and undergarments. She then began to cast Alter Self again.
This time, instead of becoming thin and willowy, she decided to become short and fat, and see what life was like from that angle. First she shrunk herself in height, taking six inches from her height. Surprisingly, she found, the world seemed a noticeably bigger, even with just a six-inch decrease. She concentrated further on her spell and began to pile on the pounds onto her smaller frame. It first started in her belly, swelling like rising bread from her previous flatness to jutting out in soft rolls. Her legs thickened, as well as her arms, feet, hands, even her fingers. Her face lost the detail of her higher cheekbones and narrow chin and became more rounded. Her breasts also grew, finally loosing some of their firmness and sagging onto her growing belly. She allowed herself to swell and grow until she reached the limits of her spell, ending with a weight gain of 50% her prior weight.
She had a difficult time recognizing herself as she gazed into the mirror. Although she was not hugely fat, she was certainly beyond being called just a little plump. Her breasts still jutted out further out from her body than her belly, but not by much. She walked back to the bed to retrieve the once-oversized dress of Christyn's. She took note immediately of the extra weight she was hauling around. She felt gravity trying harder now to pull her to the ground even while she was standing, and swiftly saw how obese people tired out so quickly.
After observing gravity, she retrieved the dress and did her best in donning it. It was a peasant's dress similar to what she wore before, but it was a little more elaborate. It was what a well off peasant or freewoman would wear. Whichever the case was, she found the act of dressing was considerably harder with her extra weight. When she finally got it on, she found quickly that it was still too big. Goodness! Anaiya thought. Christyn's must be bigger than I thought. She had already reached the limits of the Alter Selff spell, and could not make herself any fatter. She was about to discard the clothing and end her spell when she recalled seeing a different spell in her spellbook that might allow her to complete her experiment.
She walked back over to her room to retrieve her spellbook, walking awkwardly because of both her increased weight, and her oversized garments (more the latter than the former, she thought). She picked it up off her bed, and walked back to Christyn's room and mirror, carrying her book and walking even more awkwardly. She stumbled into the room and sat down on the bed to look for the spell that might allow her to complete her experiment.
�O.k.� she spoke to herself. �Alter Self only allows for a 50% change in body mass, and even with my shortened height, that's not enough. I see reference to a Polymorph spell, but that doesn't seem to be in this book. What's this now? Improved Alter Self?� She studied the new spell, and as it said, it appeared to be an improved Alter Self spell. �Curious, it appears this is a spell that Garvyn himself created. It looks more complicated than the original spell, but it doesn't look like it'll be any harder. It has a much greater degree of control, and it looks like it'll last for several hours. Oh, this is interesting. It seems that it's difficult to dispel prematurely, even for the caster of the spell. The longer the spell lasts the easier it is to dispel or end, but it's next to impossible to get rid of for about the first hour. Interesting, I see how this could be used for a secure disguise.�
She debated for a moment if she wanted to cast the spell and lock herself into an ultra-fat form for an hour or so, and decided to go ahead and do it. At least I'll have some clothes that'll fit properly for a while. Imagine that, tailoring the person to fit the clothes. She giggled at that thought, and after she had finished studying the spell, she put the book down, and walked back over to the mirror.
First she terminated her previous spell, ended it immediately this time, causing her clothes to fall loose on her frame as if a large bubble underneath them had been pricked. She also felt herself grow back to her prior height, which disoriented her a bit. It was only for a moment however, and she began to gather the �ther around her and cast the new spell.
Again, the first thing she did was to shrink her height down, although this time she took herself down to 5'4�, which appeared to accommodate the dress a little better. After happy with the height, she began the swelling process. She went faster this time, and it looked as if the balloon was blowing up underneath her clothes again. As she started to surpass her previous girth, she felt her bodice tighten around her breasts and so she altered her growth slightly to not allow them to grow further. She allowed the rest of her to continue to bloat out however, watching the dress fill out to it's proper proportions. She kept the spell going, marveling on how big of woman Christyn was, until she finally felt her clothes tightening snugly against her body. She halted her growth and let the spell end, leaving herself a huge, bloated version of her former self.
She marveled at both her new body and the magic that allowed her to do this. She guessed that she now weighted around 300 pounds, which was quite a bit of weight on her now-shortened height. Except for her long red hair, she would not recognize the woman in the mirror as being herself. Her face was round and chubby, with a very pronounced double chin. Her arms were at least twice as thick as before, and even her hands and fingers were larger in size. The rest of her body filled out the dress to near-perfection, and she could tell that most of her weight went to her belly, jutting forward further than she could reach around, and hanging down to almost her knees. She rubbed her belly as much as she could, amazed at her transformation. She noticed that the dress was straining a little bit at the seams, not painfully so, but it caused the dress to hug her body and emphasized her swollen belly. I definitely overdid it a little bit. Overall, with her huge body, and peasant-garb, she could pass as a matronly mother, or a well-to-do woman. I look sort of like a ball. Perhaps another fifty pounds and I'd be as wide as I am tall, not to mention I'd have to find a bigger dress. The thought made her giggle.
A knocking from downstairs broke her reverie. It took her a moment to realize that somebody was knocking at the front door. She wondered briefly if Melinda had arrived early, but remembered that Melinda would be Teleporting here, and would be using the Teleport Circle in the basement, not the front door. Curious, Anaiya walked back to her room to look out her window at the visitor. Or rather, she waddled next door, noting with amusement how much harder it was to move around with her new body. She wished for a moment that she could drop her alteration spells to allow her to move about normally again, but she was stuck as she was for a while. At least these cloths both fit better and didn't look cobbled together like her previous garb did. Reaching her window, she pushed her thoughts aside and quietly glanced down at the street and the person that knocked at the door.
The street seemed to be fairly quiet at the moment, although she really didn't know how busy the street was normally. Despite the fact that the morning sunlight streaked through her window, the door of Garvyn's house was cloaked in shadows by the surrounding buildings. Because of such, it was difficult to make out much of the details of the visitor. She could tell that it was a woman of indeterminate age, dressed in elaborate clothing and appeared to hold herself in a haughty manner. She could not make out her face, but could see dark hair spilling out of her drawn-up hood. Garvyn had said that it was possible that that a visitor or customer might come by. It seems he was correct. Anaiya decided to greet the person and tell her that Garvyn was out-of-town for a couple days and unavailable for any work.
She made her way down the stairs and to the front door, again noting how much difference her shorter height and her heavier body made to her mobility. It felt like gravity itself was twice as strong. Well, in a way it was, in that she was probably twice as heavy now. The end result was that she was breathing heavily by the time she reached the door. She paused for a moment to catch her breath, then unlocked the door and eased it open to greet the visitor.
She was tall, maybe as Anaiya's normal height, although it was hard to tell with her as short as she was now. She was a handsome woman rather than beautiful, with tanned skin, brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair. She was dressed an elaborate dark-green dress made of what appeared to be velvet, with black trimming, and embroidery. The embroidery ran up a bodice that had several buttons undone to show a generous amount of cleavage. Above-average sized breasts, Anaiya thought, but not nearly as large as mine. However, the most worrisome fact was a feeling of wrongness about the lady, something sinister or evil.
�Greetings Lady,� Anaiya spoke. She dipped her knees slightly in a small curtsy, hoping it was deep enough to show respect. She dare not try anything more elaborate lest she overbalance herself and fall on her face.
The nameless woman grimaced slightly at her before speaking. �I am looking for a friend of mine that might be here. Her name is Anaiya. Do you know her?�
Anaiya's heart did a summersault at the mispronunciation of her name. This woman pronounced it just like Garvyn first did. Whoever this woman was, she was no friend of hers. Thankful for her unexpected disguise and Shield spell, she replied to the stranger. �Excuse me, whom? I'm afraid I can't say that I've heard that name before. Forgive me, but why do you believe she is here?�
A disappointed look passed over the woman's features. �A� mutual friend of ours said she'd be here awaiting my arrival. She's about my height, has red hair about the same color as yours, and is very, how should we say, is very top-heavy. Are you sure you've not seen her at all?�
Anaiya's mind raced. Whoever this was had indeed seen her before, but why did something seem so wrong about her? She decided to continue her charade. �I'm sorry, but the person you describe� this Anaiya � � she deliberately mispronounced her own name, � � hasn't come around here at all that I can think of.� An idea came to her head, and she added, �Although� my Master did have a red-headed visitor the other night. She was only here for a brief minute or two before leaving. I was in the kitchen right then, but I did see her, as she was leaving, and yes, she had big, I mean, she was very top-heavy as you said.�
The woman perked up slightly. �You don't know what they talked about, or where Anaiya was going, do you?�
�I'm afraid I can't say. Again, I was in the kitchen until just before she left, and my Master said it was nobody of any importance, so I returned to the kitchen.�
The woman looked rather disgusted. �I suppose I should not be surprised. Judging by your girth,� she patted her own belly to indicate Anaiya's swollen form, �I'd say you spend entirely too much time in the kitchens.� Anaiya's face went red with shock at the woman's rudeness, but she continued on without appearing to notice. �Unless your Master can be more helpful, I will take my leave now.�
Allowing some of her anger to show in her voice, Anaiya replied, �My Master is not seeing any visitors right this moment. He is involved in a very important project right now, and cannot be disturbed. If you want to talk to him, come back in a few days. �
A shadow of anger passed over her face, �you should watch your tongue peasant when you speak to your superiors. How your master puts up with a rude, fat cow like you I can't imagine. I should teach you a lesson but, � the shadow faded and a cruel smile alighted on her lips, �I'm in a merciful mood today. Go about on your duties, which I'm sure includes tasting and sampling his food you cook. Goodbye, fat one.� With no further a due, the dark-haired woman whirled around and stalked down the street and rounded the corner.
Anaiya swiftly closed and relocked the door, breathing hard. Who was that? She didn't get a chance to get her name. She was cruel though, from her ridicule about her body. She smiled wryly a moment at the thought, thankful of her unintended disguise. It might be useful to keep this disguise for a while. Retaining her corpulent form, she waddled back upstairs to stairs to study her spellbook some more. Whoever that woman was, she was trouble, and she wanted to be prepared. She had a very strong suspicion that the woman will return sooner or later. Hopefully later rather than sooner � Melinda was due sometime today, but she didn't know exactly when. Please get here soon Melinda.

Chapter 7 � Studies of Defense
        A still-corpulent and disappointed Anaiya closed her spellbook an hour later. She had memorized every spell in the book, but had found very few that would be much use in defending herself in case she was attacked. She reflected momentarily on the few useful spells she had. Shield, Ventriloquism, Mage Armor, Silent Image and Blur � a small set of defensive spells, but she needed more, especially something offensive or some way of hiding. She had been debating what to do should she not find any useful spells in the book, and she now know that she had only one option. She sat her spellbook down on her table and proceeded downstairs.
        She walked by the kitchen, thinking briefly that she had yet to eat this morning, but she really wasn't feeling very hungry right now. She walked down the stairs, into the glowball-lit hallway underneath the house, and approached Garvyn's laboratory. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered. The moment she crossed the threshold, she felt like she was intruding. She wasn't truly forbidden to enter here, but there really wasn't any reason for her to be down here. She navigated the maze of tables and counters, although with her much-fattened form, the trip was more difficult. Finally, after almost knocking over a beaker of blue liquid, she reached the back of the laboratory and Garvyn's spellbooks.
        He said that some of the books were trapped, so she cast Detect Magic to try and figure out which spellbooks those would be. All of the books radiated at least a residual amount of magic, but of the six books that were there, all but two of them radiated a very strong glow. The remaining two glowed only slightly brighter than her own spellbook, and thus she guessed that those would be the safest ones to open. One of the two books was on the top shelf, out of her reach (eight inches make quite a difference), but the other book was on the bottom shelf, easily within reach. With a small whisper of apology to Garvyn, she took the spellbook. She spared only a glance at it � it was a darker blue like her own book and twice as heavy � and she carefully opened it, closing her eyes and praying that this was not one of the trapped books Garvyn warned about.
        The book opened with only the normal cracking of paper and leather, and she opened her eyes up carefully. Nothing had happened and the book was open! Releasing her breath that she wasn't even aware of holding, she took the book to the closest chair and sat down with it to begin studying this one.
        Perusing the contents of the book (she noted it was much better organized than her other book) she swiftly could tell this spellbook was more advanced than her own spellbook. There were a few familiar spells listed indicated in the book, like Shield, Mage Armor and Detect Magic, but many new spells as well. Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Invisibility, See Invisible, Mirror Image, Knock, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt, Dispel Magic, Displacement, Dimension Door, Polymorph Self, Wall of Ice and the most advanced spells in this book appeared to be a nasty spell called Cloudkill and a divination spell called Legend Lore. Thrilled at finding a spellbook with precisely what she needed, she spent the next hour memorizing the spells.
As she worked her way through the book, she deduced that magic seemed to be broken down into ten levels of power, from Level 0 (also called Cantrips, she discovered) up to Level 9. Most of the spells in her first book were mostly Cantrips, with a few 1st and 2nd level spells. Her first Alter Self spell was a 2nd level spell, whilst Garvyn's custom alteration spell was 3rd level. Yet, all of the spells she could read and understand with perfect clarity, even the 4th level spells of Dimension Door and Polymorph, and the 5th level spell Cloudkill. These were spells that most mages took years and years to master, and she could understand them with clarity. How was it that she can understand them?
It took her longer to commit these spells to memory, and after roughly a couple hours she finished her task and replaced the spellbook on the shelf. She contemplated studying the other spellbook, but her throat was parched and she had yet to eat. She again navigated the maze of tables and left the laboratory, and went back upstairs to the kitchen. Getting some water for herself and preparing lunch (the mechanical clock on the mantle in the kitchen showed it was about noontime) she began to relax.

Chapter 8 � Opening Gambit
        She spent the next few hours in the library, trying to study some more history of the world, but found herself concentrating less on the task at hand and more on worrying that the dark-haired woman was returning. But as the noontime sun slipped towards mid-afternoon, nothing had happened and nobody had appeared. She began to wonder if she had overreacted to the dark-haired woman's appearance, and hoped that Garvyn wouldn't be upset that she used one of his other spellbooks without his permission.
        By late afternoon, she had almost forgotten about the visitor. She was rereading a small snippet of a small passage about Renath, when she heard a soft click out in the main room. She looked up from her reading, and listened again, trying to figure out what she had just heard. A moment later, she heard a door, probably the front door, silently creak open, and a quiet shuffling. Was that Melinda, finally arriving? But if so, why was she using the front door. Her fears returned anew of the dark-haired woman, and she immediately decided to treat whomever had just entered as a possible intruder.
        She quietly stood up from the couch she was sitting on, and cast Shield on herself, being as quiet as possible. Next, she cast Mage Armor. That spell, she distantly recalled, was supposed to require a strip of cured leather, to act as a focus and concentration aid, but as she cast the spell, she found she had no need of the leather and the spell briefly flared blue as it encased her in an invisible force field. She heard the click of the front door shutting as she completed the spell, but she heard no other footsteps. Anaiya decided on her next spell, Invisibility, and soon she disappeared from sight.
        Invisible and protected, Anaiya began to creep forward, being as quiet as possible. Although moving around in her corpulent form was still strange, she was thankful at the moment that she had not yet donned any shoes � her stocking feet were far quieter. She still heard no sounds coming from the main room by the time she reached the doorway. She carefully looked around the edge of the doorframe into the main room, and her heart sunk at what she saw.
        Standing right in front of the door was a cloaked and man. His whole head was wrapped in a type of scarf or turban, preventing the whole of his face from being seen. He appeared to be very tall and strong, and looked about the room with red-tinted eyes. He glanced back to his right, in the direction of the kitchen as the same woman that visited earlier somehow glided to him. Dressed in the same elaborate green velvet dress, she floated a couple inches above the floor. Damn, it's her! Anaiya thought. I knew she was going to be trouble. What do I do?
        Stepping back around the corner, Anaiya decided to bluff her way through this first. Bending the �ther to her will, she cast Ventriloquism. She looked back around the corner into the room, and allowed her voice to echo throughout the main room where the intruders resided.
        �I see you have returned again, black-haired one.� The intruders looked around, trying to determine the source of the voice. �Who are you that enters this abode without permission?�
        The woman yelled out in anger and defiance. �Is that you, fatso? Where's your master? He's not here, is he? I know that Anaiya is here.� Again, she mispronounced Anaiya's name, �She arrived a few days ago, but she's never left! Bring her out, and we'll be on our way.�
        Anaiya wasn't sure how the visitor knew this, but she seriously doubted the woman's sincerity at leaving the place. They'd probably ransack the place given half of the chance. �I doubt you are any friend of hers. Again, who are you, and how do you know her?�
        The woman spat her response out in anger. �You don't need to know who I am, beyond the fact that I an a Druidess of Chaos. Now, tell me where she is before I tear this place apart.�
        Anaiya saw that there was going to be no way to bluff or bargain with the woman, so she stepped out of the doorway to prepare her first attack. Unfortunately, as soon as she stepped around the corner, the druidess shrieked out and pointed in her direction.
        �Damn!� Anaiya swore. Apparently the woman had seen right through her invisibility somehow. Before Anaiya could duck out of the way, the woman cast a spell, and immediately five glowing arrows of a Magic Missile spell went streaking towards Anaiya. All five shot towards her, but instead of impaling her, they slammed against her own Shield spell, flaring a bright blue as it absorbed the missiles. Swiftly realizing that her Shield spell held, she cast her own offensive spell at the surprised druidess. A crackling bolt of blue-white electricity arced out of her and slammed into the woman. She cried out in pain and staggered about, but remained standing.
        Throughout this first exchange of spells, the large man remained in the same position, watching the battle with his glowing red eyes. What was his purpose here? Why hadn't he made any attempt to assist the woman? Anaiya wasn't sure about those answers, but she decided press her attack. She began to cast another Lightning Bolt spell, but just before she completed it, her opponent cast an unknown spell of her own. Nothing appeared to happen, but when Anaiya let loose her second bolt of lightning, this time it impacted and dissipated as it struck an invisible shield around her.
        Smiling, the druidess called out. �You're much more formidable that what I expected, fatso, but I think it's time to end this battle. Where is Anaiya?�
        �I'm not telling you!� Anaiya yelled back. It was time for her to flee the battle and take stock of her situation. She was feeling the draining effects of casting so many spells, and she needed to rest a bit. She started to cast Dimension Door, with the intention of teleporting to her room upstairs. However, as she started to visualize her room, she felt the spell slip away from her. She realized belatedly that the magic of the teleport chamber below had just drained away her teleport spell. Although she was a welcome visitor to Garvyn's domain, she was not yet on the list of �authorized personnel�, and thus the spell drained away with no effect.
        The woman took full advantage of Anaiya's mistake, and cast another spell at her. Anaiya felt her whole body tingle slightly, and she turned around to run, but suddenly she felt and saw herself suddenly� explode outward with rolls and rolls of fat. She felt a momentary throbbing of pain as her clothes literally exploded off of her body, and she crashed to the floor on her now vast belly.
        She lay there partially dazed, flailing around trying to stand back up. She realized after a moment that she was now far too fat to even attempt to try and stand. She must have at least quadrupled in size and weight � her arms and legs were so filled with fat that she could barely lift them. Even if she could, her belly and breasts were so large now that, as she rested on them, she could not even reach the floor. She tried to relax, to focus her mind on casting a spell, but she felt something kick her in her vast belly. She looked up into the grinning face of her adversary.
        �Dear oh dear. Didn't anybody tell you that you should watch what you eat?� the druidess told her in a mocking tone. Anaiya tried to move her arms, to try and do anything, but about all she could do is wiggle her fingers. �Having problems casting spells dearie? You're so fat it looks like you can barely lift your arms.�
        Anaiya never quite realized how much she used arm gestures when casting her spells, but now that she could not move, she discovered how much easier it made spellcasting. �What, � she gasped out, �did you do to me?�
        �You don't know? Perhaps you're not as powerful as I guessed. I Polymorphed you into a fat slob, and made you about ten times fatter than you were. I enjoy poetic transformation like that. I must admit though, I never thought that making somebody fat like this would be so debilitating. I'll have to keep this in mind for the future. Now unless you want to stay like that permanently, stop thinking about spellcasting and tell me where Anaiya is.�
        Anaiya's mind raced for a solution to her current situation. The witch still did not realize yet that she was Anaiya, although it probably wouldn't take her much longer to figure it out. She needed time to think about her next move. �Don't� don't leave me like this,� she pleaded, only half-pretending at being panicked. �The redhead, she� she's upstairs, sleeping. We found her a few days ago, unconscious, and she's been sleeping ever since. My Master told me not to say anything to anybody about her. I don't know who she is or why she's here, but my Master told me not to say anything.� She let her voice take on a desperate tone, �Please don't leave me like this!�
        The green-clad woman cackled in glee. �Thank you so very much for your help fatso. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off to collect my prize.� She turned and started walking away.
        �No!� Anaiya cried out. �Don't leave me like this! I told you where she is!�
        The woman hesitated for a moment. �Dearie, I never said I'd reverse your condition. If it wasn't personal, I would have just killed you and be done with you, but you actually managed to surprise me with that Lightning Bolt. For that, I'm going to leave you like that and suffer. When I'm done with Anaiya, perhaps I'll let you beg for your life. But for now, farewell.� Finished with her speech, the woman motioned to her companion and they both departed the library and went upstairs.
        Anaiya was pleased that her bluff worked, but her pleasure faded after a moment in that she had no idea what to do. She thought back to what she had read about Polymorph. It's an Alteration and Transmutation spell, essentially a super-advanced Alter Self spell. She probably cast the permanent version. As immobile as I am, I doubt I can cast Dispel Magic to do away with it. A thought occurred to her, and she concentrated on the spells she had cast on herself earlier. Hmm, my Improved Alter Self spell is still active. The spells she read didn't have much information concerning this kind of situation. Two alteration spells cast on one person. I wonder��
With little to loose, she concentrated on ending her old Alter Self spell. As the spell had described, it did not end immediately like the other spells she had ended early. Instead, it fought to stay active, drawing on the �ther to keep going. However, the spell had already been going several hours, and had lost a great deal of its strength. With a determined effort, Anaiya snapped the thread of �ther holding the spell together, and it finally exhausted itself. As soon as that spell dissolved, the Polymorph spell unraveled as well. Both alteration spells gone, she swiftly reverted to her normal, slender form.
She lay on the ground for a moment, dazed with the unexpected victory. It worked! Her deduction had worked out. Canceling the one alteration spell caused both of them to unravel and end. She wasn't exactly sure where that leap of logic came from, but she wasn't going to complain. She had to get up and find some way to eliminate that druidess.
Getting up from the floor, she noted briefly that the remains of Christyn's dress hung from her body in tatters. At least it preserved at least a little of her modesty. Dismissing the thought, she listened for the sounds of her pursuers. It sounded like they were upstairs, rummaging around. It would only be a matter of time before they found her. Creeping as quietly as possible, she left the library and headed towards the kitchen.
She had almost made it to the door when the woman screamed at her to stop. Damn, she saw me! Glancing behind, she saw her pursuers rushing down the stairs. Breaking into a sprint, Anaiya ran into the kitchen and towards the stairwell down into the basement. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she turned around and started casting another spell, her most difficult spell yet. She worked as fast as she could, although it almost wasn't fast enough. She finished the spell and briefly saw the enraged face of the druidess when the corridor and stairwell was filled with a solid wall of ice.
Releasing her breath, Anaiya relaxed a bit. She just bought herself some time. She wasn't sure how much time, but it should take a few minutes at least for them to break through over ten feet of ice. Walking a few feet down the corridor, she was about to head into the laboratory, but just before she opened the door, she decided to see if she could get into the storeroom Garvyn mentioned. Walking a few more step down the hallway, she reached the doorway to the storeroom.
Looking at the door, it looked no different than any other door in Garvyn's house. He said it was locked, but he didn't mention anything about it being trapped. She whispered the words to Detect Magic, and noticed immediately that there was a magical aura on the door. But what was the magic on the door? She was starting to discern different patterns different spells, but she could not recognize them yet. About all she could tell was that there were two spells active. She heard a faint chunking sound from the direction of her Ice Wall. The terrible duo was doing it's best to dig it's way through. Running out of time, she decided to risk opening the door.
One spell was on the door itself, whilst the second spell seemed to be centered more on the lock. She started off by casting Dispel Magic first on the door. The spell shimmered for a moment, then winked out of existence. Now, if her guess was right, the spell on the lock was some sort of locking or binding spell. The Knock spell came to mind, and after she cast it, she found that her suspicions were correct. The lock on the door clicked, and the door slowly swung open. She could see that the locking spell on the door was still activated (probably an Arcane Lock spell), but it should remain inert for ten minutes. Time enough, hopefully, to find something that she could use to help defend herself.
Entering the room, she was expecting to find the storeroom cluttered and dusty, but to her great surprise, she found instead a clean orderly room brightly lit with a glowball in the center of the ceiling. The room wasn't overly large, only slightly larger than the teleport chamber. It seemed smaller though with the numerous tall cabinets and a few racks of objects along the walls of room, and a single small table in the center. With her Detect Magic, she saw magical auras emanating from most of the cabinets and racks. A cloak glittered brightly with magic near her, hanging on a coat rack. She walked over to it and started to examine it. It appeared to be rather nondescript, although well-made. She wondered what magic it held, and decided to cast an Identify spell on it. It was difficult and demanding to cast the spell, since she didn't have the required pearl it demanded, but she did manage to complete it. As soon as she did, awareness flooded into her as to the cloak's power. Aids in hiding, not by Invisibility, but by blending into shadows in such a way that See Invisible would not penetrate. That will be useful. She took the cloak off of the wall and donned it over her tattered dress. Immediately, the cloak started to shift it's color to blend into her surroundings. Pleased by her discovery, she looked around at the rest of the room.
After her first treasure, she learned that the majority of the remaining items were fairly benign, or appeared to be so. She did not have the time nor the strength to Identify every item in the room, but the few she did were not very useful to her situation. A walking staff to keep the user from slipping on ice, another cloak to keep the wearer dry and warm, and a small square piece of glass that instantly expanded into a tall floor mirror. She did find a long dagger that was enchanted to be exceptionally sharp that she strapped to her upper thigh (with an accompanied sheath, fortunately).
By the time she found the dagger, her time in the room was nearly up. She had thought about locking herself in here, but had decided that she should make her last stand in the Teleport Chamber, and pray she can hold out there long enough for Melinda to arrive. She looked through one last rack filled with a bunch of rusty, nonmagical items. Not sure why she, she quickly sifting through them. She didn't see much of anything that looked useful in the rack (many interesting and vaguely familiar items, but nothing useful), yet for some reason she had this sudden, insistent feeling that something useful was here. After another minute, as she was about to give up, she found on out-of-place item, stuck towards the back, was relatively shiny and clean. Curious, she pulled it out and examined it.
It was rectangular in shape, much the size and shape of a small book, about one quarter the size of her spellbook. It not made of metal, but of a white, plastic-like substance that had a slight gleam to it. The fact that plastic shouldn't exist in this world made the item very unique. Not question her knowledge of plastic at the moment, she turned it over, and saw that the other side was dominated by a large black square of glossy plastic. She ran her fingers down the black square of plastic, when suddenly several portions of the square changed color. Startled, she pulled back her hand and looked at the square.
After staring at the patterns the colorations made, she realized with a start that what she was seeing was a display of some sort. A display to a computer she thought incredulously. Certain parts of the display appeared to serve as buttons, and were each labeled with a word that appeared to be in a different language. She pressed one button that had a familiar word, �English� and the screen went blank, replaced with a technical display that appeared to be related to the device's operation.
As she read the display, her skin went cold and her heart dropped. �Dear God, please tell me this isn't real,� she whispered. A dread passed over her and she almost threw the device at the wall, yet for some reason she felt that this item was her salvation. She stared at the object with both fear and hope, when she realized that the digging sounds coming from her Ice Wall where getting louder. Realizing she was out of time, she took the object and left the room, letting the door lock behind her, and fleeing into the teleport chamber. She had an idea as to how to use her salvation, but did she dare use it?

Chapter 9 � Desperate Measures
        Grumbling under her breath, the druidess waited for her companion to chop through the thick wall of ice blocking her from her quarry. For the fiftieth time, she cursed herself for not preparing any significant fire-based spells. And for the fiftieth time, she told herself that the danger of setting the place on fire was too great. She had no care about this Garvyn's residence, but if she burnt it down with a Fireball spell, there'd then be the chance, albeit slim, that she could be tracked down. Attention of a vengeful ally was something she'd rather avoid.
It had been fifteen minutes since the wench had cast her Ice Wall. So close to her prize, and she escaped yet again. She let herself concentrate again and extended her senses out. Her quarry had moved slightly, but was still somewhere here in the basement. Apparently, there was no way out of the basement she trapped herself in. Probably trying to find somewhere to hide. She was guessing that if she had the power to confront her, she would have joined her fat friend in the main hallway. She was wishing she had gone back to question fatso in the library, but she had no idea that the wall was as thick as what it was, and that it was going to take as long as it is.
A loud crunching sound roused her from her thoughts and she looked up to see that her companion had finally broken through the wall of ice. Her senses retreated back into herself, and she just narrowly missed sensing a second life force appear ahead somewhere. Damn, that was a thick wall, fifteen feet of ice at least. �Took you long enough,� she muttered to her companion.
He sheathed his sword � a dark, twisted blade � and replied in a smooth voice. �You would not have dug through that any faster than me. If it were not for you, I could have simply have melted it with hellfire.�
She had eliminated his ability to summon fire a long time ago. It was powerful, but he was too untrustworthy. �And like I trust you with it? I'm not stupid. Now get going, you lazy demon.�
He nodded his cloaked head at her. �I obey.� He turned and stepped through the last bit of the tunnel he had made and then stood by the hole waiting for her.
She noted with disgust at his uncaring attitude at playing a front-guard for her. Instead of watching for danger, he merely stood impassive, staring off into the corridor. Stepping quickly, she walked through the ice tunnel, shivering at the intense cold the ice still emanated. Despite the short time to traverse the fifteen-long tunnel, she was shivering cold by the time she reached the other side. After exiting the tunnel, and seeing no danger, she could not help rubbing her arms a moment to try and warm herself up.
The masked demon watched her with amusement in his glowing eyes. �A little chilly for you? I dare say, it is quite a change from your usual jungles, is it not?�
�Shut up!� she snapped. She didn't admit it, but she would be glad to go home after this. Someplace warm. She surveyed her surroundings momentarily, trying to figure out where her quarry was. There were four doors, two on the left, all of which was closed. She motioned for her companion to follow her, and she slowly advanced down the hallway.
Wait, the last door on the right wasn't closed completely. It appeared to be a jar ever so slightly. Smiling in anticipation, she mentally prepared the special containment spell she had prepared for this occasion. Reaching the door, she did not have to listen very hard to hear the rapid breathing on the other side, and a moan of pain? Turning her head to her companion, she quietly told him to open the door for her. For a change, he did not make any snide remarks, but silently did as he was told. Even he's anxious for the prize. It's what he's for, after all.
With a small nod from her, he threw the solid wooden door open. She jumped into the doorway, confident that her defensive spells would protect her from harm. Surprisingly, there was none and instead she saw her redheaded quarry spin around in surprise, hands outstretched. Not giving Anaiya a chance, she released her containment spell. Four balls of red light streaked towards Anaiya and engulfed her hands and feet and knocked her off her feet. She fell to the stone floor with a painful thump, and lay there stunned. Immediately, the globes of force pulled her legs and arms apart and outstretched. A red bolt of energy ignited then from each of the four globes and merged with its neighbor, forming a circle around the now-captive redhead.
        Anaiya struggled to no avail against her the bonds holding her spread-eagle on the floor. The druidess laughed at Anaiya's futility. �Dearie, I'm so glad to meet you finally. You've given me quite the chase, you know.� She started to look over her captive. Something was odd about her dress, well other than the fact it was way too small for her in the bodice. It looked like it was several sizes too small � her breasts were literally oozing out of the top cut-away and between the lacings on the front of the dress. �How in the world did you manage to squeeze into that dress?�
Hesitating a moment, the dark-haired woman looked around the chamber, to see if there any other threats in here. The chamber had a large circle drawn in the center of each wall and ceiling, suggesting the fact this was a teleport chamber. She may have been trying to figure out how to teleport out. Otherwise, the only think of interest in the dim room was a tall mirror in a floor stand. Her companion glanced behind the mirror but said nothing.
Anaiya tried to speak to her captive, but all she could to is mumble. This caused her captor to click her tongue. �What's the matter, cat have your tongue? It's a safety-feature of my containment spell� keep you bound and quiet. I can't have you casting spells, you know. Pity I didn't have an extra one to use on you fat friend, but despite how resourceful she was, you're more important, dear. Besides, I found a more fitting way of containing her.�
        The witch started to cast a spell, and began to strip the clothes off of Anaiya. Soon she was naked, and her fancy green dress was piled off to the side. Her giant breasts were red from the torture of being confined in a too-tight dress, but no permanent damage was done to them. Remarkable bosom. I could earn quite a sum by selling her as a whore. Too bad I won't be able to do that though.
She returned to tormenting her captive. �You are indeed very powerful, more powerful than I bet you even realize yet. Pity however that you have some innate protection spell that prevents me from dominating your mind or even drain your life force.� She spoke something to her demonic companion. �However dear, not all is lost. I know how I'm going to get around these little problems.�
        She laughed as her companion approached Anaiya and began to disrobe. She thought see could see the surprise in her eyes as she saw that it was not a hideous, being underneath the clothes, but instead a naked human male � a gorgeous, naked human male � a gorgeous, naked, and well-hung human male. As he looked at Anaiya's naked body in unabated lust, the look in her eyes seemed to shift from shock to fear. She probably just realized just what was in store for her.
        �Yes dearie, you're right. You're going to be a mother in a few short minutes. My slave here is an incubus, and specializes in seducing woman, and making them pregnant with demon-spawn. Your child will inherit most of your abilities, including a few abilities of my choice from the father. It'll be far easier to mold the child to my desire, instead of spending the years to break your defenses. Now, stop struggling and relax. You're going to enjoy this whether you want to or not.� She walked back to the doorframe and leaned against it, waiting for the lovers to commence.
        Anaiya remained mute as the gorgeous man advanced to the bed and climb up, climbing over Anaiya's bound form. The witch could imagine the thoughts going through Anaiya's mind. She probably couldn't recall ever seeing a man as handsome as him, which wasn't surprising. Few women have seen an incubus and lived to tell the tail. He was tall and heavily muscled, easily dwarfing even her own tall body. His hair was a deeper red than hers, and he had a face that was handsome and sinister at the same time. As she noted a moment earlier, he was very well hung and already stiff, looking to be as thick as her own wrist or forearm. I bet that's going to hurt, but then again she'll be so aroused by his energies that she'll hardly notice. Not that it'll really matter much.
        The man smiled lasciviously at her, and kneeled over her body. He rested his hands on either side of her chest and bobbed his head down to suck greedily at her large breasts. Pleasure washed over her face as he did so. She could tell that her captive was trying to fight the sensations, but she knew it to be a loosing battle. In only a few seconds, her body tensed up as the first orgasm rushed through her body. Her whole body shook briefly and she finally let out a loud moan. By the time it faded, her lover had moved himself higher, and he was probably positioning his manhood at her vagina. After holding himself still for a moment, probably teasing her with a light touch, he began to ease his bulk forward and enter her most prized depths.
        Nargona figured that right about now Anaiya's mind was flooded with sensations more extreme than she could remember. Being split open by an in incubus something that is both feared and lusted after. He seemed to stop for a moment though, but grunted and thrust forward again. As I suspected, she was a virgin. Anaiya's face was twisted in pain, probably from her hymen being torn away, but the pain swiftly faded as he continued to fill her.
        Her face had transformed into one of pure bliss by the time he completely buried himself inside of her. She probably felt so full and complete; it was probably unlike anything she could remember. And it only got better as he started to pull out, and thrust back in, in the age-old rhythm. He started slow at first, and picked up speed � the faster he went, the better it must have felt. She was softly yelping each time he thrust into her, and as the tempo picked up, her yelping grew louder. Her whole body was rocking back and forth with increased intensity, her breasts flowing and bobbing back and forth on her torso. How long this went Anaiya probably had no idea but as the tempo had reached a point where her breasts were slapping into her face, the druidess felt adventurous and she momentarily weakened the bonds on her captive's legs and arms. As she guessed, Anaiya's rational mind was too far gone under the avalanche of pleasure to do much, so the redhead took the opportunity to wrap her arms and legs around her lover, grinding her own pelvis against his to allow him deeper penetration. The increased the pleasure of his deepest penetration, and the pressure from squeezing her breasts against his chest pushed her over the edge. Her body went rigid in a mini-seizure as a second orgasm shook her body, followed immediately by a third. This caused her tight tunnel clamp hard on his member, and he thrust forward hard one last time to bury himself as deeply in her as possible.
        The orgasms subsided and the fog clouding her mind receded enough that she felt his member swelling larger and painfully stretching her already tight tunnel. Her rational mind kicked must have kicked in because fear filled her face again. �No! You're going to make me pregnant!� she screamed. However, just after she screamed, she felt his first spasm and the semen that sealed her fate burned hot inside of her. �Get off of me! You're making me pregnant!� He did not heed her though and continued to spurt inside of her. The druidess, tuned to life as she was, could actually feel the sperm racing deeper inside of Anaiya, past her cervix, and into her womb. She started to struggle against the incubus, desperate to remove herself from underneath him, but he kept his weight on her shoulders and kept her impaled on his throbbing member. The semen was oozing now up deeper inside of her, up her tubes, where a single egg awaited the arrival. Many sperm had died already on the trip, but the millions that remained immediately attacked the egg. The egg actually resisted penetration for a few milliseconds before finally succumbing to a single sperm that broke the outer covering of the egg and wormed its way inside. The partial strands of DNA of the sperm and egg began to intermingle, and in a flash she swore she could feel, the DNA became one, and a new life was conceived inside of her.
As soon as the life inside of her started to pulse, the incubus withdrew from her with no ceremony, and walked back towards the wall. After the rigorous sex, Anaiya face had a vacant look. She weakly raised her head off of the floor and turned to her captive, who was rubbing her hands in anticipation.
The black-haired woman spoke first. �You should lay back down. It'll only be a few minutes before you give birth.� She waved her hands and the red spheres of force intensified around Anaiya, although this time she allowed her to speak.
The sweaty redhead looked at the witch with unbridled anger and hatred. �You fool!� she spat. �You've doomed me!�
�Dearie, that was the general idea. Oh, you may survive your child's birth, but it's not likely. You should stay alive long enough to see if it's a boy or girl. Which do you prefer, a son or daughter?�
�No! I'm not her, I'm not Anaiya. I'm Nrmph �� she trailed off as her mouth was again forced shut by the witch.
What is this? A last ditch attempt to escape? Or, what if � she briefly cast her senses down to the kitchen to try and find the fat whale she beached down there, but to her chagrin she could not sense her down there. Damn, the fat little bitch is more resourceful than I thought. Is this a final rouse? Did she actually take Anaiya's form to try and confuse me? She walked over to the heaving body of the redhead, noticing that her abdomen was already beginning to swell with child.
She relaxed the bindings that silenced Anaiya and spoke to her. �Is that you fatso? Damn you, you got me again. You're not going to get away this time though,� she rubbed the redhead's five-month swollen belly.
�No!� her captive gasped out. �I'm you! I'm Nargona!�
What? The witch had enough of this and cast a Dispel Magic on her captive, specifically targeting any alteration spell in effect. She felt a Polymorph spell end, but the druidess looked on in horror as Anaiya's body melted and shifted into a different woman, one that was about the same height, but with short, black hair and much less top-heavy. The woman bound on the stone floor was herself! �What in The Abyss is this?� she demanded when she felt something prick her shoulder and her world went black.
And she awoke standing in the same circle-covered room she was in just a moment ago. She spun around in confusion. It was indeed the same room, but there was no evidence of Anaiya's green dress on the� floor. A green velvet dress! That was my dress! Dread filled her as she suspected what was happening, but before she could do anything to protect herself, she felt virtually all of her defensive spells fade away. Immediately after that, her limbs stiffened up, leaving herself immobile.
Anaiya stepped out of the shadows of the corner of the room, wearing the tattered remains of a dress and a brown-gray cloak. Swiftly as the tables are turned, Anaiya was now the captor and Nargona was the captive. �I don't know who you are, or what you really want with me, but I don't have time to talk at the moment. If you don't know what's going on, deal with it. You'll figure it out pretty soon. Now, don't resist my spells, or else you'll be wishing your dead.� With that, Anaiya's began casting a spell on her. Even though she tried to resist it, she was too disoriented to fight it off, and she felt a tingling sensation began spreading along her body. Anaiya turned her still immobile body to face the small mirror in the room, and she saw to her horror that body shifting and changing. Her hair was lengthening and turning red, her skin was becoming creamy and white, and her breasts started swelling in size. I'm turning into Anaiya she thought. Her clothes remained the same however, and she soon felt her swelling breasts tightening in her bodice. �Pity you didn't wear anything loose today,� Anaiya muttered. The rest of her body's transformation seemed complete, but her breasts continued to swell. Her cleavage was already rising above the low-cut neckline of her dress like twin loaves of bread, and began to spill over the edges of her gown. Growing breast flesh was parting her dress in the front between the lacings and peaking forward. The pressure was growing painful, and she tried to move her arms or body to try and alleviate the growing pain, but her body remained immobile and beyond her control. She cursed the seamstress that made this dress as sturdy as it was � not even the seams were giving away from the mounting pressure.
Curses, this hurts! How big is she? As the thought entered her mind, the growth stopped. However, her body remained immobile, forcing her to wonder at her overall changes. She appeared identical to that redheaded whore. Constrained by her dress, her engorged breasts were pressing out in every conceivable place they could by several inches, making it look like a big ball of dough was stuck beneath her bodice. In fact, she looked exactly how she had found her only a few minutes before. She was gasping for breath, barely able to breath with her enlarged bosom, and dearly wishing she could unlace her bodice.
Anaiya took one last look at her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction. �I don't know what you had in mind, but I hope it's nothing too unpleasant.� A distant crunching could be heard in the distance. Anaiya drew up her cloak, walked and hid behind the mirror. Two glowing balls of pale white light then danced from behind the mirror, taking up residence near the doorway, and the glowing ball of light over the doorway went dark, leaving the room in relative darkness.
Nargona surveyed the room, the lighting, the mirror near the wall, and her own Polymorphed state was exactly how she found Anaiya in the room. What is she doing? Trying to make me think she teleported me in time? It's impossible! The paralysis freezing her body wore off abruptly, but before she could do anything about her situation, the door crashed open and a black-haired woman jumped into the doorway. Nargona spun around in surprise and face the intruder, and what she saw before her was what she just thought was impossible. She saw herself. Red balls of force spun out from the intruder's hands, and encompassed her own hands and feet. The impact threw her roughly to the floor, impacting rather hard on her bottom, but not doing any major damage. Still in shock, she felt her arms and legs stretched spread-eagle along the floor, and her mouthed gagged by an invisible force. She turned her head to look at her earlier self, and the words she heard chilled her to the core � they were the exact words she had muttered a few minutes earlier.
�Dearie, I'm so glad to meet you finally. You've given me quite the chase, you know. How in the world did you manage to squeeze into that dress?� Nargona trembled in the confines of her own magical bonding. She started to thrash around, to free herself, to try and say something to warn herself away, but she could not. Hope filled her a moment when she saw the incubus walk to the mirror and glance behind it, but just as before, he said nothing and turned his back to it. �No!� she tried to say, but it came out as only a garbled grunt.
�What's the matter, cat have your tongue?� her past self said. �It's a safety-feature of my containment spell� keep you bound and quiet. I can't have you casting spells, you know. Pity I didn't have an extra one to use on you fat friend, but despite how resourceful she was, you're more important, dear. Besides, I found a more fitting way of containing her.�
There was nothing Nargona could do. History was already made, and she was powerless to stop it. She had just caused her own doom at the hands of her own companion. She shut out her past self's taunting, and looked at the incubus looking down at her, a certain glint in his eyes. I bet he knows it's me down here and not that redheaded whore, and he's not saying a thing. Damn him to hell.

Chapter 10 � The Trap is Sprung

Anaiya remained behind the mirror, her heart still pounding hard. When the big man had looked behind the mirror, she thought she was a goner, but he didn't say a thing. Even with her cloak, there was no way he could have missed her. Why didn't he say something? She put her questions aside for the moment and continued watching the happenings.

The early druidess was still tormenting her captive. �You are indeed very powerful, more powerful than I bet you even realize yet. Pity however that you have some innate protection spell that prevents me from dominating your mind or even drain your life force.� She spoke something to her demonic companion. �However dear, not all is lost. I know how I'm going to get around these little problems.�
        Anaiya filed away that information into her head, hoping she'd remember it later (forget? I'll probably have nightmares from this.) The big man approached the fake Anaiya and began to disrobe. Although her fake didn't look surprised, she herself certainly did when she saw that the man was not some hideous beast beneath the clothes, but instead a gorgeous, muscular human-looking man, that was soon naked. As he looked at the naked body of her decoy in unabated lust, her eyes grew wide in horror. Bloody hell! She was going to rape me! Rape me and make me pregnant, I bet! Horror turned to anger, but she remembered that it was a future version of her tormenter on the ground, not her. I would not have wished this on her, but it is fitting that she does this to herself.
        The witch spoke again. �Yes dearie, you're right. You're going to be a mother in a few short minutes. My slave here is an incubus, and specializes in seducing woman, and making them pregnant with demon spawn. Your child will inherit most of your abilities, including a few abilities of my choice from the father. It'll be far easier to mold the child to my desire, instead of spending the years to break your defenses. Now, stop struggling and relax. You're going to enjoy this whether you want to or not.� Anaiya watched the witch walk over to the doorframe and leaned against it � probably to enjoy the spectacle.
        Anaiya tore her eyes from the two naked bodies in the room and decided that now would be a good time to move from her hiding place. She glanced at the temporal displacer clutched in her hand, and checked the power levels. It was getting dangerously low on power, but most of the work was done. All she had to do was 'tag' the druidess with the device, and the task would be done. Easing out from behind the portable mirror, she started to creep along the wall.
        The action in the center of the room was now underway. The incubus had fully mounted the fake Anaiya and was starting to ride her slowly. Anaiya didn't know how much time she had, but she could not risk moving too fast, or else the camouflage ability of her cloak would not operate. Fortunately, the attention of the druidess was riveted to the heaving bodies in the center of the room. The action of the lovers grew faster and faster as Anaiya crept closer and closer to the witch.
She had almost reached the far corner of the room when the lovers both seized up in climatic orgasm, and finally stop. Her imposter screamed twice about becoming pregnant, and then fell silent. The fucking done, the incubus pulled himself out of her without hesitation and stood up, looking down impassively on her naked body. Anaiya held her breath and stopped herself. She was only fifteen feet away from the witch � still too far away to risk charging her, not to mention what the incubus might do to her should he catch her.
The druidess was looking down in glee at her captive. �You should lay back down. It'll only be a few minutes before you give birth.� She waved her hands and the red spheres of force intensified around the fake Anaiya.
The sweaty redhead looked at the witch with unbridled anger and hatred. �You fool!� she spat. �You've doomed me!� Anaiya flinched at her decoy's voice. She had hoped that she would have remained mute, but apparently the witch enjoyed tormenting her captives. I suppose it makes sense. She did claim to follow chaos after all. Anaiya couldn't do anything to prevent the future druidess from speaking without revealing her own location. Starting to advance again, she hoped that she could close enough distance before her decoy said too much.
�Dearie, that was the general idea. Oh, you may survive your child's birth, but it's not likely. You should stay alive long enough to see if it's a boy or girl. Which do you prefer, a son or daughter?�
�No! I'm not her, I'm not Anaiya. I'm Nrmph �� she trailed off as it sounded like her mouth was again forced shut by the witch. She seemed to hesitate for a moment. Anaiya was almost within arm's reach and brought out the displacer. But, just as she was about to touch it to her body, the witch walked over to the heaving body of the redhead. Damn, so close. Her heart skipped a beat however when she realized that the incubus was staring right at her. Like before though, he remained mute, although this time he did quickly wink at her before returning to his vigil of the fake Anaiya.
Anaiya put two and two together and realized that the demon was, for this moment, on her side. He's a slave, and doesn't much like it. Not that I'm surprised much. Her main question was what would he do once Anaiya triggered the temporal displacement in his mistress. I'll find out soon enough. I have little choice in the matter anyway.
The druidess was talking to herself again. �� me again. You're not going to get away this time though,� she rubbed the redhead's five-month swollen belly.
�No!� her captive gasped out. �I'm you! I'm Nargona!�
Anaiya walked quietly towards Nargona (so that's her name) but hesitated when she saw her cast a spell. Her imposter's disguise suddenly melted away to show her true form. Damn! �What in The Abyss is this?� she heard Nargona demand just as she stretched the last few feet between them. She felt her hand tingle as it passed through Nargona's defensive spells and she pricked her pursuer in the shoulder with the displacer. With a small pop, she vanished and the circle was completed. Or was it just started?
Anaiya stumbled forward, almost stepping on the Nargona still bound on the floor. She stepped to the side, and regained her balance after a few steps, but it was more than enough time for the demon to attack her.
But when the finally turned herself around, she only saw the demon smiling at her, applauding her performance. He had retrieved his sword, but it was sheathed behind his back. He was still naked, though. �Nicely done, cutter. In the eons I've been around, I've seen very few berks pealed so elaborately. I'd love to know the dark of what you just did.�
Surprised, Anaiya replied to the demon, attempting to take a position of superiority. She wasn't quite sure what it just said, but she thought she understood the general idea of it. �I think you'll understand when I say that it's � classified information. I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you afterwards.�
The demon chuckled briefly. �Well said, sorceress. As much as it disappoints me, I certainly wouldn't be flapping my bone-box either, if I was you.�
�Good. I'm glad we understand each other.� Anaiya glanced at the captive Nargona again. Apparently she was magically gagged again, as she hadn't said a thing yet. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her belly was still growing larger, perhaps seven months along now. She returned her gaze to the demon. �So, what do you have in mind now?�
The incubus seemed to think about that a moment. �Well, as tempting and delicious your body looks, I have other business I must see to. Since I got to bang this sodding idiot here,� he motioned to his former mistress, �I'm free from her power. She's going to have a lot of fun in the Abyss. She'll probably go barmy in a short amount of time, but I'm going to make sure she lives. That is, as long as you're not going to interfere with me?�
Anaiya shook her head. Although she had no idea if she could kill this demon, she didn't want it to know that. �As much as it's tempting to eliminate a demon from the world, our goals are similar enough that I will allow you to depart. Be warned though, should we ever meet again, we meet as enemies.�
The demon nodded in agreement. �Fair enough, cutter. Nargona was right, you are powerful. If we do meet again, I'm not sure who'll end up in the dead-book.� He walked over to Nargona and picked her up off the floor, her belly almost swollen to the bursting point. �If we're done with business, I'm leaving.�
Anaiya motioned for it to hold. �I need to know first, how did Nargona know about me, and did she have anybody else after me?�
He shrugged at her question. �Since you did help free me, I'll answer that for you, not that I know much. I know she gave some Arcanists the laugh and managed to spy on some super-dark project of theirs. She didn't tell me about it, but we came here shortly after that. Other than that, all I can say is that she was a loner; she kept her thoughts caged in her brain-box until after the deed was done. Then she flapped her bone-box over some bub about a job well done, looking to impress her friends. Now, it's time for me to fly this cage. I'm done and through with this Prime for a few centuries. Farewell cutter.�
With a loud pop, and the smell of brimstone, the incubus and the now enormously swollen Nargona disappeared, leaving Anaiya alone. The battle was done, and she had won! Not to mention that she had actually tampered with the timeline and survived. I should be damned just for that. The adrenaline started to seep out of her system and her knees grew weak. Collapsing on the floor, she shook and wept, thankful to be alive, and fearful for the future.

Chapter 11 � Aftermath
        Anaiya felt a hand gently shake her shoulder and she opened her eyes. She must have cried herself to sleep again. This is the second time in less than a day. She looked up at whomever woke her, and saw the worried face of Melinda staring down at her.
Worry and concern was clear in her voice. �Anaiya, are you all right? What happened?�
Anaiya thought about what to say, where to start. �I� I don't know where to begin, but I'm all right. Shaken, but physically fine.� She sat up, and Melinda helped her to her feet.
Melinda took in Anaiya's tattered clothes and whistled in wonder. �I said you might burst out of your clothes, but I didn't think it'd actually happen. Wait a minute, isn't that one of Christyn's dresses? And what's all these clothes and mirror in the chamber, not to mention why was it pitch black in here when I arrived?�
Despite being drained, she smiled. �Yes it's one of your cousin's dresses. As for all of the stuff in here, it's going to take a while to explain. Can we go upstairs first? I need to sit down.�
�Oh dear, I'm sorry. Let's go to the library, there should be a couch in there you can lie down on if you want.�
As they left behind the teleport chamber, Anaiya felt a tension leave her body. She noted that her Ice Wall had mostly melted, leaving behind only a small bit of snow and a lot of water on the floor. They paid it no mind though as they went upstairs and to the library.
It was dark outside and inside, but a light spell of Melinda's lit the way. After they settled in the library, and Melinda got Anaiya some water and a little food, Anaiya began her tale. �Early this morning there was a visitor, a woman with black hair��

        By the time Anaiya was done, Melinda felt she was about to faint herself.

Interlude
        In a cluttered room in an isolated house half the world away, an old man watched the redhead in a globe of the purest crystal. His companion yawned briefly, reminding him of his own fatigue. It appeared that Anaiya was safe for the moment, and he ended his scrying spell.
        He turned again to his companion. �So Rothin, what is your overall opinion of her situation?�
        Rothin rubbed his chin briefly, where a beard was growing. �Well Master, despite the fact that we've been extremely lucky, I'd say her chances are pretty good now. My main qualm is that I don't think I would have tried prompting her to use that temporal displacer.�
        The Master nodded his head. �I kept my sending short to keep the odds of detection minimal.�
        Rothin snorted in mock disgust. �I'm not talking about your telepathic sending, and you know it. We just showed her a tool to change time! It's probably depleted it's last bit of energy now, but do realize what damage that device could have caused if she had misused it or lost it?�
        The Master sighed. �I know, but I couldn't see any other way to help her without us directly intervening. And if we did, that would have brought the Hand crashing down on her, and that would also have been disastrous. Remember, Garvyn O'Daily is a Hider, not a combatant. He relies on non-discovery by using as little magic as possible, but consequently if somebody does actually penetrate his domain, he has very few defenses.�
        His companion nodded tiredly. �I know, I know. I'm just too tired. We've been at this for too long today.� Rothin hesitated before continuing. �Are you sure this is the right thing for her? Wouldn't she do better to be with us now?�
        �Well, after today's fiasco, I'm wondering that myself, but if what that demon said was true, she should be secure now. It was only blind luck that Nargona managed to trace Anaiya's teleport to Garvyn's house. So, we're back to our original choices: Keep her here where she's surely in danger, or leave her there where she only might be in danger.
        �Hrmph, not exactly thrilling odds, but since we're too busy hiding and defending ourselves, you're correct.� Rothin tried hard to stifle another yawn, but failed miserably. �Can we talk more about this tomorrow? It's almost noontime, and we've been up all night watching her. Melinda's with her now, she should be safe.�
        �Yes, you're right. Let us both get some sleep. We'll speak to the others then, when our wits are recovered.�
        The two men walked out of the cluttered room to their respective sleeping areas � little more than dormitories, but they've grown used to it over the long years of hiding from the Hand. The events of the night (well, it was afternoon for Anaiya when it began) showed him just how lucky they had been, but also showed him that they weren't the only ones with some luck. We were just a little luckier today. Now, if our luck can just hold out just a little more. Collapsing on his bed as fast as his aged body would allow, he banished all of the thoughts of the past, present and future from his head and willed himself to sleep. Sleep when you can, for you never know when you'll sleep next. He suspected that there'll be a lot of sleepless nights ahead of him in the near future.


Author Notes:
        I want to thank you for reading this story, and I hope you enjoyed it. This story represents both an AD&D campaign I've worked on for several years as well as ideas floating around in my head for almost as long. I originally never anticipated writing a story like this, but as time wore on, the desire to write grew.
I'll keep these notes brief, which I have a hard time doing. First off, for the experienced role-players that read this story, for a basis of most of the magic used in the story, I used the new 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons rules as provided by Wizards of the Coast.
As you, the reader, have most likely noticed, this is only the beginning of Anaiya's trials and journey for remembrance. As time permits, I will most likely continue to chronicle her quest. I will most gladly welcome any comments, suggestions, idea, complaints, etc about this story. Anaiya's trials are not set in stone.
As one final note: I'm not much for legalese, but it needs to be said. Beyond the names and mechanics of the spells I used, the story, characters, and places are all created by me, and belong to me. Resemblances to any character, living or dead, is purely coincidental, and any similarities between this story and any other is also purely coincidental and unintentional. I worked very hard not to duplicate anybody else's works, but with there being so much other fiction out there in the world, it's not an easy task.

        For anybody and everybody that wants to contact me, my address for this story is [email protected]. To keep my junk e-mail filters from filtering you out, include the name of �Remembrance� in the subject. Flames will be largely ignored.

Thank you again everybody.